Duel Monsters are Magic GX
by snivygamer97
Summary: Strange tablets have started to appear all across Equestria. Celestia has called the Mane 6 together in order to help save this dimension from being conquered. In order to save this dimension, the Mane 6 are going to have to go away from home, deal with being human in this new world, and learn how to play Duel Monsters at a school made to learn about it. Crossover with 101 DS.
1. Chapter 1

Twilight was running away from some strange creatures. What these creatures were she didn't know. All she knew was that it was a ginormous red dragon, a yellow thunder creature, and a blue demon. Eventually, she got cornered by the three creatures and all of them prepared to attack.

"This can't be happening. Why are you chasing after me?" Twilight demanded from the creatures for an answer.

"Twilight!" The purple unicorn turned her attention to the voices, which came from Spike and her five friends.

"What's going on?!" Spike wondered. "What are these things?"

"I don't know, Spike. All I know is that these creatures are chasing after me." At this, the creatures turned their attention to the baby dragon and her five friends. "Wait, don't hurt them! Hurt me!" Twilight pleaded with the creatures, hoping that they would listen to her. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears as they attacked and destroyed each of her friends in one powerful blast. "No! Why did you do that?! They were my friends!" the purple unicorn weeped at the loss of her friends.

The three creatures prepared another blast to shoot at Twilight. However, before the blast could hit the mare, she suddenly opened her eyes. She was no longer being confronted by those three ferocious beasts. She was back in her room at the Golden Oaks library. Looking down, she saw Spike sound asleep in his bed, which signaled a sigh of relief from the unicorn.

Taking a moment to think, Twilight's relief turned to worry. While the creatures she encountered were only a part of her dreams, a part of her told her that these creatures would soon appear for real, or at the very least a sign of things that would soon unfold.

* * *

The next morning, Spike woke up only to instantly be hugged by Twilight, who had tears in her eyes. "Um, Twilight? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" the young dragon wanted to know out of concern for the unicorn. "Does it have to do with what happened at Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding? Because we already apologized and everything involving the changeling's attack is over."

"No, Spike. It was just a nightmare. Everything's fine," Twilight tried to reassure. However, one look at Twilight's puffy red eyes told the young dragon that she was not fine.

"Would you like to talk about it, Twilight?" Spike asked the unicorn mare. "Maybe talking about it will help you feel better."

Twilight refused to say anything right away. After all, a dream where she lost all of her friends, including him, was a big pill to swallow and she didn't want to burden Spike with it. However, the desire to tell someone about her troubles was too tempting and she decided to give in and tell Spike.

She told Spike everything about her dream, including what happened to him and the girls. When she was finally finished, Spike was left speechless. "Wow." Spike finally said "That is one bad dream. No wonder you were so sad. But don't worry. I'm fine. Your friends are fine, and we all are going to continue to be fine. So don't worry about it. Your dream is not going to happen anytime soon,if at all. Not as long as we can help it."

After Spike finished, Twilight gave a sincere smile to her assistant and friend. "Thanks Spike. I feel a lot better now."

The peace that had developed between the two was interrupted by a knock on the door. Upon opening it, they saw Rainbow Dash who looked worried. "Guys, you need to get to the middle of town, fast! There is something you guys need to see."

The two had a sense of foreboding as they left the tree house with Rainbow Dash, uncertain as to what the trouble was and whether or not they should be worried or not.

* * *

When Twilight and Spike arrived in the middle of Ponyville with Rainbow Dash, what they saw was something they were not expecting; a giant piece of stone that had the image of a dragon carved onto it, the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "What is this Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked the cyan mare.

"I don't know. One minute I'm flying through Ponyville being all awesome. The next this giant piece of rock just appeared in the middle of town without any warning," Rainbow Dash explained.

Suddenly, before Rainbow Dash could say anything else, Pinkie Pie popped up between her and Twilight. "So guys, what are you doing here? Oh, are we going to throw a party involving that strange rock in the middle of town? Because that would be so cool!" Pinkie Pie cheered at the idea of throwing a party for her friends.

"I don't think that this is what is going on, Pinkie Pie," Rarity said as she walked towards the growing group. "However, I believe that I could potentially make some interesting outfits back at home based off of it." Rarity said with sparkling eyes as she was getting inspired.

"I heard that there are apparently more of these stone pieces in towns all across Equestria," Applejack said as she approached them, having found this out due to her connections with the rest of the Apple family.

"Yeah, and these stones have even gotten the animals confused," Fluttershy revealed. "Plus, it's kinda terrifying."

"What do you think is going on, Twilight?" Applejack asked the purple mare.

"I don't know. I know as much about this as you do. Maybe the princess knows more about this," Twilight wondered, as Spike belched up a letter from Princess Celestia.

"So, what does the letter say, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It says for all of us to meet Celestia at the castle in Canterlot," Twilight admitted the news to her friends.

* * *

It took a few hours, but the group of seven eventually made it to the castle in Canterlot. Upon arriving, Twilight was quick to bombard Celestia with questions. "What are these stone tablets? Why are they showing up now? Are they the work of another villain?"

"Relax, Twilight." Celestia calmed down her faithful student. "I don't think that any villain is the source of these stone tablets. No, I think that these tablets come from another world entirely." At this, the six ponies and one dragon gasped. "You see, in ages past my sister and I used to travel through different worlds through a pair of Dimensional Scissors that allow for travel through different dimensions. I believe that another world may be sending these stone tablets out as a means of getting our attention and perhaps asking for help."

"So, what should we do, Princess? Do we go to the dimension that needs help and give it to them?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I was thinking just that," Celestia agreed. "After all, for all we know the suffering of that dimension could come back to affect ours as well. However, before you all go I need to make something clear. Not many are aware of there being different dimensions outside of a select few different dimensions. Said knowledge would be bad to get out into the public eye as there are those that would attempt to damage the different dimensions for their own purposes. So, for that reason I think that you should avoid tipping off others that there are different dimensions as much as possible. Understood?"

All of the ponies agreed with this, ready to do what was necessary to save the different dimension.

"Good. Now, while most creatures are not aware of other dimensions, there is at least one ally in the dimension you will be going to that knows of the existence of different dimensions. His name is Maximillion Pegasus. He will be sure to help set you on the right path." Celestia got out her pair of Dimensional Scissors and opened a portal. After opening the portal, Celestia proceeded to give the pair of scissors to Twilight to hold onto. "Now, keep in mind, time flows a lot differently in the dimension you are about to go to. One day there can be as small as a few seconds here. The dimensional scissors can remain synced up with both times for a few hours, but after that the difference in time will start to be felt. So, if you want to head back home, you will be able to. Also, this means that even if time does go slower in the other dimension, you will not miss much of anything at home. So, good luck to each of you."

"Don't worry Princess Celestia. You can count on us to save that world that needs our help!" Twilight said in determination. "Right girls?"

"Right!" All of Twilight's friends said at once.

"Are you sure? You all may be gone for a very long time, even if it isn't felt in the time you are absent from this world," Celestia tried to give everyone an out just to be safe.

"We can handle this mission, Princess. Don't worry about a thing," Twilight reassured her teacher.

"Hey, wherever Twilight goes I go," Spike made clear.

"Hey, sometimes heroes need to make sacrifices for the good of many," Rainbow Dash reassured the Princess.

"Yeah, we can't just leave this place to suffer," Rarity said.

"Whatever that world throws at us, we can take it on if we stick together," Applejack said.

"And who knows? Maybe we can have super fun parties with the residents of this new place," Pinkie Pie said optimistically.

"Um, right." Fluttershy agreed.

"Alright then. Take care," Celestia said. At this, the six ponies and dragon entered the portal to a brand new reality.


	2. The Tale of the Sacred Beasts

Upon going through the portal, the six ponies and one dragon immediately realized that something was off. First of all, they were now wearing clothes that they were not wearing beforehand. Second, they had all turned into strange white creatures with the exception of Spike who was now a dog. Third, the group was right in front of a castle surrounded by a jungle. Upon noticing that they were no longer ponies, the ponies proceeded to freak out, with the exception of Pinkie Pie, who was busy trying to find out what she could do with her new form.

"What happened to us?!" Twilight screamed out, panicking that she was no longer a pony.

"I don't know! Though I have to admit that our outfits look pretty nice all things considered," Rarity took a moment to appreciate their clothes.

"What's up with our hooves? They have strange claw-like appendages attached to them," Applejack was confused.

"Forget our hooves! Where are my wings?!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "How am I supposed to fly without my wings?"

"Hey, it isn't that bad to be these new creatures. Look! I can walk on two legs!" Pinkie Pie said as she demonstrated her ability to walk on two legs instead of four.

"Um, how did you figure that out?" Fluttershy asked Pinkie Pie.

"Just experimented," Pinkie Pie responded.

"Okay, calm down everyone," Spike tried to reassure the group.

"Wait, you can still talk?!" The six of the ponies turned human were shocked.

"Um, Spikey now don't be alarmed but you are kinda a dog instead of a dragon," Rarity tried to calmly reveal this truth to the dragon turned dog.

"Wait, what?!" Spike proceeded to take a moment to look at himself, before groaning in disappointment. "Aw, come on! I can't even be whatever you guys are?!"

"Okay, calm down Twilight," The purple haired leader said to herself as she walked back and forth. "So, we are brand new creatures in a strange land. Chances are we are what the dominant species is in this world. We just need to find this Pegasus creature and see if he knows where the problem is at." Twilight proceeded to turn her attention to the others. "Guys. We should try to find Pegasus and find out where the problem is."

"But where should we look? Should we check the castle?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"Probably. Let's go check there before we go any further," Twilight answered. "Let's go."

After taking a few minutes to get used to walking on two legs, the group started to walk to the castle's entrance. Upon reaching the entrance, they were met with a guard. "Hold on! Who are you six and what business do you have with Pegasus?"

"You see, we have been summoned to here in order to deal with a world endangering cataclysm that may happen at some point in the near future," Twilight tried to explain. "Now, if you would just kindly let us through to see Pegasus, we can get started in saving the world."

"A likely story. You are most likely just here to harm him or get some blackmail material," The guard refused to allow entry.

"Hey, buddy, what's the big idea? You refuse to let us in, even though we asked nicely and are trying to save the world?" Rainbow Dash growled as she got into the guard's face.

"The world is fine, kids. Now I suggest you leave before I am forced to use force to get you to leave," the guard countered.

"Really?! You don't want to get on my bad side, bub," Rainbow Dash was furious, ready to rush at and hurt the guard. Suddenly, Applejack grabbed her by the arms in order to keep her from doing something rash.

"Settle down there, sugarcube. The last thing we need is to cause a fight," Applejack warned Rainbow Dash before she could do anything rash.

"Please sir, this must be a misunderstanding. Can you please bring Maximillion Pegasus here so that we may speak with him?" Rarity pleaded with the guard.

"Look, I was given orders to guard the entrance to Pegasus's castle and to not let any unauthorized guests in. While it is true that there are guests expected to be here later today, you do not appear to be the expected guests. So, please leave before I stop being so patient," the guard warned.

Before the group could say anything else or try to leave, the door that the guard was in front of opened and a man in a red suit and with gray hair stepped out. "Please, Richmon, tell me who these guests are and what they are doing at my door." the man said.

"Sorry Mr. Pegasus, but these kids here are trespassing and are trying to make claims that they have a meeting with you," The guard explained.

"Wait, that's Pegasus?" Rainbow whispered to Pinkie Pie.

"Yeah, I know right? I though he would be an actual pegasus," Pinkie Pie responded.

"Is that so, well then can you tell me who it is that sent you here?" Pegasus asked the group.

"Princess Celestia, Mr. Pegasus," Twilight answered.

"Princess Celestia?! Well then, Richmon, you can let these six in. These were the guests that I have been expecting," Pegasus explained.

"Sorry, sir," Richmon apologized. "Ladies, you may head inside."

The group of six and Spike followed after Pegasus into the castle, with Rainbow Dash sticking out her tongue at Richmon as they passed by.

"So, what has Celestia told you about this dimension?" Pegasus asked the group as he led them through the castle's halls.

"Not much. She mostly just said that this world is in danger and that our world could also be affected," Twilight explained.

"Well, the danger is unlikely to be due to any normal threat, but a matter of the Spirit World. So tell me. Have any of you heard of Duel Monsters before?" Pegasus questioned the group. However, each of the group shook their head, having never heard of the game before. "Really, none of you? Wow, you really are from a different dimension. Duel Monsters is a card game I created many years ago, based on old Shadow Games from many years ago. Also, most of the cards are based on real creatures from a realm separate from ours known as the Spirit World. The only threat that I can think of is one that can affect the Spirit World as well as this world. The only threat like this would be… the Sacred Beasts."

"Um, excuse me Mr. Pegasus," Fluttershy interrupted, "But what are the Sacred Beasts?"

"Very rare and powerful cards that have dangerous abilities. They could steal all of the souls from Duel Monster cards as well as cause untold danger to other worlds as well. If they were to fall into the wrong hands, who knows what could happen. In fact, I had a dream about them just last night," Pegasus explained, much to the fear of Twilight as she realized that she may have dreamt about the cards and the danger they could pose.

"So, what do you want us to do? Tear up the cards so that they can't be used?" Rainbow Dash asked out of curiosity.

"Actually, no," Pegasus shot the idea down. "The cards could attack you spiritually if you tried to do so. What we need to do is to find and stop whoever would try to steal the cards before they could steal them."

"Alright then. So, where are the cards anyway?" Applejack asked.

"They are hidden underneath Duel Academy," Pegasus answered as he stopped in front of a door.

"So, what is Duel Academy?" Rarity asked.

"Duel Academy is a school created by a man named Seto Kaiba in order to teach duelists to play Duel Monsters," Pegasus continued to explain.

Twilight finally proceeded to ask the question that all of the group had on their minds, "So, what do you want us to do, Mr. Pegasus?"

"First of all, you can just call me Pegasus. Second, I want you to enter Duel Academy in order to find the ones after the Sacred Beasts," Pegasus finally answered.

"So, you want us to attend a school that teaches us to play a card game to stop potential thieves? Sounds a bit lame if you ask me," Rainbow Dash rudely butted in.

"Rainbow Dash! Don't be so rude," Rarity scolded the brash girl.

"Yeah, think of all the potential new friends we could make and have a party with at Duel Academy," Pinkie Pie said.

"Still, it does seem a bit much. Potentially leaving home for months in order to keep these cards and different dimensions safe? I'm not so sure about this," Applejack gave out her concerns.

"Keep in mind, you all still have a pair of Dimensional Scissors, which you can use to visit home whenever you want," Pegasus reassured.

"So Twilight, what do you think we should do?" Spike asked Twilight for her to weigh in her view on the situation.

Twilight spent a good few minutes thinking about what should be done. On the one hand, not being able to see home or her friends and family for a long time seemed like a big ask, though fortunately they could still visit whenever they wanted. Also, her dream from the previous night concerned her. If those creatures she saw in her nightmare really were the Sacred Beasts, then who was to say that their dimension or any others for that matter, would remain safe if they didn't act soon. So for this reason, Twilight nodded her head and said, "I'm going to stay and help. You guys can go back home if you want, but I want to stay and learn about Duel Monsters so that I can protect the Sacred Beasts cards."

"Hey, who said you were going to do this alone? I'm with you all the way!" Rainbow Dash offered her help.

"You can count me in too," Spike agreed.

"Me too. We can't just let this world and possibly others fall to ruin like this," Applejack concluded.

"Same here. Though hopefully it will end up being a relaxing time rather than a stressful one," Rarity agreed.

"Yeah! It may be fun to be at Duel Academy," Pinkie Pie also agreed. "So, what about you, Fluttershy? You want to stay and help too?"

"Um, I guess if everyone else will be staying to help, I guess I can stay too. But only if I am allowed to visit home from time to time," Fluttershy reluctantly agreed.

"Perfect. Now that you all have agreed to help, it is about time we get to the issue of building your decks," Pegasus responded. Pegasus opened the door, which had an entire array of cards to find on the other side.


	3. Duel Fool

The Mane 6 and Spike were in awe at the sight before them. There were cards as far as the eye could see within this room. "You see, if you are to attend Duel Academy, you need to build your own dueling decks and practice dueling until you are good at it. So, for this reason, I am allowing you all to build decks from this collection of cards you see before you. Almost every card that exists is here, with a few exceptions," Pegasus explained.

"So, we can build any deck we choose?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "Maybe this game will be fun after all."

"Yes, well of course there are rules to consider," Pegasus started to explain, only to be interrupted by Rainbow Dash.

"Aw, come on. It's not like we need to read them. Just pick the strongest cards. That is the way to duel," Rainbow Dash boldly claimed.

"Excuse me, Pegasus, but can I see these rules?" Twilight politely asked.

"Why, of course. Here are some small pamphlets containing all of the important rules as to how Duel Monsters works," Pegasus proceeded to hand out a pamphlet to each of the Mane 6.

"Thanks, but that won't be necessary Pegasus," Rainbow Dash reassured. "Now to build my deck. I'll be winning matches in no time flat!"

"But, Rainbow Dash, shouldn't we read the rules first?" Twilight tried to reel in the brash girl only for her to be met with no response. "Please tell me that the rest of you will read the rules before building your decks," Twilight pleaded to the rest of her friends.

"Of course, darling. It would be best for us to know what to do going in rather than jumping in blindly," Rarity responded.

"Oh, right. Before you build your decks, I also have managed to obtain some duel disks for you. They're right here," Pegasus motioned his right hand over to a table that held six Duel Disks.

"Um, what are these things?" Applejack was confused about the technology.

"Duel Disks. They are an invention of Kaiba Corp. They allow for the cards to form realistic holograms. It is a much more interesting means of playing the game, isn't it?" Pegasus explained.

"Sounds terrifying," Fluttershy shivered in fear.

"Are you kidding?! That sounds exciting!" Pinkie Pie screamed out in joy.

"Yes, it really is excit- huh?" Pegasus was interrupted by a glowing light coming from a briefcase in the room with cards. "What's this?" Pegasus opened up the briefcase and saw that the cards inside, six dragons with a white card border. "Could it be? That you six are the ones to bear these six dragons in duels?"

"Um, dr-dr-dragons?" Fluttershy was scared.

"Relax, they are only paper," Rainbow Dash tried to comfort her old friend.

"You see, these cards are rare synchro monsters, of which there is only one of each. I have been holding onto them until the ones who can use them would arrive, and it looks like you six are the ones, ironically enough. Here, take them," Pegasus gave the briefcase over to the others.

"Sure thing!" Rainbow Dash cried out as she grabbed Red Dragon Archfiend.

"This will be great!" Pinkie Pie yelled as she grabbed Power Tool Dragon.

"I'll pick this one. It looks majestic," Rarity said as she grabbed Black Rose Dragon.

"Well, I guess since we are getting the cards I'll choose this one," Applejack decided as she grabbed Black Winged Dragon.

Fluttershy reluctantly looked into the briefcase and was quickly convinced to take one upon seeing Ancient Fairy Dragon. "I'll take this one."

Before Twilight grabbed the sixth dragon she asked, "Are you sure we can take them?"

"Go ahead. They were just rotting away in this briefcase for ages, refusing to be used by me or any of my men," Pegasus reassured.

At this, Twilight reluctantly grabbed the sixth card, Stardust Dragon. "Well, I think I'll get to reading the rules now," Twilight said as she sat at the table and began to read the rules. Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, was building a deck of only powerful monsters.

Several hours later, the Mane 6 had gathered outside in order to test out their new decks. It took some time for them to get used to holding cards and wearing a duel disk on their arms, but they were eventually able to manage it.

"All right, it's about time we test out our decks to see if they are good enough to use," Twilight started to explain.

"And to build up our skills so that Duel Academy will accept us," Applejack added on.

"So, who should duel first?" Rarity asked. "I would just love to test out my new deck."

"Hey, Twilight. How about you and I duel? It would be great to see how I stack up against an egghead like you," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"Rainbow Dash, are you sure your deck is ready for you to duel with?"

"Of course I am," As she held up a deck of over forty cards.

"Um, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy meekly questioned her oldest friend.

"Um, yeah. I don't see the problem," Rainbow Dash was confused.

"The problem is that your deck has too many cards in it. A balanced deck should only have forty cards in it, while yours has way more than forty," Twilight explained.

"What?! Seriously? Just when I was getting used to my new deck," Rainbow Dash was annoyed as she started to take out cards until she had only forty. "Can we start now?"

"Sure, Rainbow Dash," Twilight said as she readied her Duel Disk and shuffled her deck.

"All right! Prepare to get defeated Twilight because I am so gonna win this Duel!" Rainbow Dash gloated. As Twilight drew five cards, Rainbow Dash proceeded to grab as many cards as possible.

"Um, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity this time interrupted.

"What?"

"You can only draw five cards on the first turn. Not only that, but unless another card effect is in play, you can only draw one card at the start of each turn," Twilight explained once more.

"Seriously?!" Rainbow Dash was annoyed further. She put back most of the cards except for five to open up the Duel with.

"Seeing as how you didn't read the rules, how about I go first and explain them to you as we go?" Twilight suggested.

"Um, okay."

"Right, my turn. I draw. And I summon Magician's Valkyria in Attack Mode," Twilight opened up her first turn. A beautiful brunette wearing strange magical clothes was summoned onto Twilight's field (1600/1800). "That will do for my turn."

"Okay, now it's my move. I draw a card," upon seeing that the card was Red Dragon Archfiend, she was happy. "And I summon Red Dragon Archfiend in Attack Mode!" However, as Rainbow Dash summoned her monster onto the field, her Duel Disk gave a warning beep noise. "Huh? What did I do now?"

"You see, Rainbow Dash, when summoning a monster, you can only summon levels one through four out normally. Levels are represented by the number of stars on the card. You need to sacrifice monsters if you want to summon higher leveled cards, one monster for levels five and six and two monsters for levels seven and higher. However, even if you did sacrifice, it wouldn't have worked anyway. You see, some monsters need to be summoned in special ways from a side deck, like the purple bordered fusion monsters mainly summoned by Polymerization or Synchro monsters with the white border. They require a tuner and one or more non-tuners to summon them," Twilight gently explained.

"Are you serious?!" Rainbow Dash was really starting to get mad at what was going on. "You mean I cannot summon Red Dragon Archfiend?! Well, I guess I can only summon a lower level monster then. Let's see, what can I summon?" However, as Rainbow Dash looked at her hand, she realized that she didn't have any low level monsters in her hand. In fact, as far as she could remember, she couldn't remember putting any such cards into her deck at all. "Fine. I end my turn."

"Alright, now it's my turn. I draw, and I activate the spell card Dark Magic Curtain. Now, by paying half of my life points I can special summon a Dark Magician from my deck," As Twilight said this, her Life Points went down from 4000 to 2000.

**Twilight: 2000**

**Rainbow Dash: 4000**

"Hey, wait a minute! What do you mean spell card?" Rainbow Dash was confused.

"Again? Seriously?" Applejack was getting tired of how much Rainbow Dash didn't know about the game.

"Wow. Rainbow Dash really didn't read the rules at all," Pinkie Pie said in surprise.

"You see, Rainbow Dash. The game isn't just about summoning and attacking with monsters. It also is about playing spells and traps in order to support your monsters as well. With these effects, you can destroy monsters, power them up or down, or in this instance, summon a stronger monster without using your one normal summon." a magician wearing purple appeared onto the field, ready to battle (2500/2100). "Granted, Dark Magic Curtain prevents me from summoning any other monsters this turn, but that won't matter. Since you control no monsters, I am allowed to attack you directly. Magician's Valkyria, attack with Mystic Scepter Blast!" Twilight's female sorcerer proceeded to attack Rainbow Dash directly, cutting down her Life Points to 2400. "Now, Dark Magician, attack Rainbow directly with Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician proceeded to launch a green energy blast from his scepter, hitting Rainbow Dash and reducing her Life Points to zero.

At this, Rainbow Dash collapsed onto all fours, unable to believe that she lost so easily. "I can't believe I lost. I should have won. I had so many strong cards, but I still lost."

"I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but this may be a good learning opportunity for you. You see, in order to do well with Duel Monsters, you need to have a great balance of monsters, spells and trap cards. Without balance, you cannot be a great duelist," Twilight explained to her brash friend.

"Maybe… I should go ahead and read the rules now," Rainbow Dash decided.

"That sounds like a good idea," Twilight said. "Maybe after that we can build you a deck that works well for you and is good for dueling with."

At this, Rainbow Dash went from disappointed to smiling, "Sure. Sounds good."


	4. The Next King of Games!

For the next month, the Mane 6 and Spike worked hard to get used to Duel Monsters. Each and every day, they dueled and remade their decks to fit with whatever would work out in a duel better, as well as visiting home so that they wouldn't miss out on their home lives. Everyone was able to get used to the game and how it worked over time. Even Rainbow Dash, who had failed hard during her first duel, showed some remarkable improvement when given the time to learn the rules.

Finally, after a month of getting used to the game, and learning more about how this world worked, Pegasus had the group flown out to Domino City in order to apply for the Academy. First, they took the written exam, which everyone was thankfully able to pass, with varying results. The next day, they were to take their dueling exams. If they won, they would be able to enter the Academy and begin their quest to stop the Sacred Beasts.

"Once again, all Academy applicants who have already passed their dueling exam, please report to registration," a voice on a loudspeaker called out. "For those who have failed, better luck next year."

"And have fun at Duel Monsters Community College," a man with yellow hair thought as he responded to the message.

Meanwhile, most of the Mane 6 had finished and passed their dueling exams. Now, they were sitting down in the stands waiting for Rainbow Dash to arrive and take her duel exam. She had slept in, and was taking a long time to get to the arena. In fact, the remaining five were starting to get worried that Rainbow Dash wouldn't make it in time.

* * *

"Last call for all Academy applicants. If you have not signed in for your exam, please do so now," a voice on a loudspeaker said, which made it outside.

"Well ladies, that's it. Mark all the no shows no shows," a man in charge of signing students in said to two ladies in white and orange.

"Wait! You can count Jaden Yuki as present! At least, so long as I can keep my grip," Jaden said, holding onto the side bar on top of the railing.

"Same here! Rainbow Dash can also be counted as present!" Rainbow Dash said as she climbed up next to Jaden.

The two proceeded to climb over the railing and started to enter into the arena

"Sweet! So, Rainbow Dash, you're going to take your duel exam too?" Jaden asked.

"Um, no duh. Everyone is here for that," Rainbow Dash responded.

"So, you mind telling me what your duel style is?" Jaden was curious.

"I duel with a lot of power-based cards, of course!" Rainbow Dash answered.

"Sweet. As for me, I duel with a bunch of my favorite Elemental Heroes. Sweet, huh?" Jaden said.

"Sounds cool. Hey, it looks like we got here just in time to see a duel," Rainbow Dash said as the duo approached a kid with glasses, wearing blue, and having blue hair.

In the arena, a young teen wearing white clothes was dueling one of the proctors who had two monsters in defense mode, Big Shield Gardna and Gear Golem the Moving Fortress. The proctor had 1900 Life Points remaining while the teen had 3200 Life Points and was controlling

Vorse Raider and one facedown card.

**Proctor**

**1900**

**Bastion Misawa**

**3200**

The proctor then said, "All right, new guy. You have two monsters staring you down from my defensive deck. What do you plan to do in order to fight back against this? You can't exactly lower my Life Points with these monsters protecting me,"

"Simple. I play a trap card named Ring of Destruction. With this card, I can destroy a monster on the field and inflict damage to both of our Life Points equal to said monster's attack points," the teen said as the ring appeared down his Vorse Raider's neck. Said monster blew up, inflicting 1900 Life Points of damage to both players, with the teen's being reduced to 1300 and the proctor's to 0.

"Clever move. Welcome to the Academy," the proctor congratulated the teen.

"Thank you, oh wise proctor," the teen thanked the proctor with a bow.

"Wow. That kid sure is good, dontcha think so Chazz?" one kid in blue and with blue hair asked a friend of his.

"Guess the rumors of him being some sort of whizz kid were true, huh Chazz?" another kid with black hair asked.

"He's a punk. We've gone to prep school for the last three years. We're ready for the Academy," Chazz said. "These kids don't know what they are getting into, but they'll learn the hard way. The Chazz Princeton way.

Back with Jaden and Rainbow Dash, the duo were surprised at seeing Bastion handily defeat his opponent.

"Man, that last guy really tore it up," Jaden said.

"I know, right? Say, who do you think he is anyway?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Bastion Misawa. They say he got the highest score on the written exam out of all us applicants. Well, him and some girl named Twilight Sparkle," the blue haired kid answered.

"Well, it's great to see that Twilight's egg headedness came in handy. As for me, I barely passed," Rainbow Dash responded.

'Wow. Those two sound like real brainiacs. I just barely passed as well," Jaden revealed.

"Me too. It's nice to meet you two. My name's Syrus by the way. I kinda have a thing about test anxiety. I don't know how I won my match," Syrus revealed.

"So you're in!" Jaden congratulated, slapping Syrus on the back. "I'll be in too, just as soon as I win my Duel."

"Make that the two of us," Rainbow Dash remarked confidently.

"Wait, you two haven't dueled yet? Well, then you two might have a problem. I think this was supposed to be the last one," Syrus explained to the duo, who were both taken aback by the news.

Meanwhile, where the teachers were, they were looking over the results of the dueling exams. "Looks we have a pretty good crop this year," one of the proctors said.

"Yes indeedy," another proctor answered.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Crowler, but two more applicants have just arrived to take their duel exams," the man from outside said to a man with yellow hair and a blue suit.

"Did you just call me Mister?" Crowler asked irritably.

"Sorry. I am new here Mrs." the man apologized.

"I have a PhD in dueling. I've earned the title Dr. thank you. Now, tell the truants that they'll have to come in next year, thank you," Crowler rudely responded.

"Come on Dr. Crowler. We have time for two more," one of the proctors pleaded with the doctor.

"Yeah, they were just a bit late. In fact, one of them is only late because their train was delayed," another proctor argued.

"Late is rude!" Crowler yelled out. "I have no time for slackers," Crowler growled as his phone suddenly started to ring. "Yes? Who might this be?"

"It's Sheppard," the man on the other end answered.

Crowler's tone immediately relaxed, "Oh, it's Chancellor Sheppard."

"Just calling in about the two late students. Now, I know that the two of them don't exactly have the highest written scores, but they are still students looking to learn, which is what our Academy is all about; bringing out the best in its students. Now, please tell me that you will give these two a fair shot," the Chancellor explained.

"Oh, don't worry I will," Crowler then hung up the phone, frustrated with what he had been told. The school was made to help bring out the talent in its duelists, true. But did they really have to give the same chance to these obvious dropouts? While Crowler did have to follow orders and give them a chance, that didn't mean that he had to pass them automatically. "Pardon me, gentlemen. I'll be right back. I'm to duel these two truants myself."

"Hold on, sir," one of the proctors interrupted. "What about the dueling deck to be used?"

"I don't need one of the test decks. I'll be using my own, thank you," Crowler responded.

Back in the stands, Bastion was sitting down in the row below Jaden, Rainbow, and Syrus. "Tight duel, Bastion," Jaden said to the young genius, much to his initial confusion.

"Thank you," Bastion accepted the compliment.

"From the looks of it, you might just be the second best duelist here," Jaden said, much to the rest of the group's confusion and surprise.

"Jaden Yuki, please report to duel field four," said a voice on the loudspeaker.

"Aw yeah. Go time. Wish me luck guys," Jaden said.

As Jaden was walking down the steps, he was interrupted by Bastion. "Wait, if I am the second best duelist who's first?"

"That would be me. It's what I'm best at," Jaden boasted.

"Make that the third best, Bastion. Don't forget about me," Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Wow. He seems so sure of himself. I wonder if he is really that good," Syrus was amazed.

"He's going to need to be. Look who he is facing," Bastion warned.

Down at the duel arena, two of the same ladies in white and orange from earlier were helping Dr. Crowler put on this special duel disk. Jaden, meanwhile, was entering the room from an elevator right on his side of the field. "So, son. Your name?"

"Uh, Jaden. Jaden Yuki," Jaden answered as he faced Crowler.

"Well "Uh Jaden Yuki," I'm Dr. Veillian Crowler. Department Chair for Techniques at Duel Academy".

"Wow, well let me tell you it is an honor to meet and duel you, sir," Jaden responded to the teacher. "You must be expecting a lot out of me to duel me yourself. Just know that I won't let you down." Crowler, meanwhile, was frustrated and confused with the boy's attitude.

"Wow, this kid must be quite talented if Crowler himself is dueling him," the blue haired kid that was friends with Chazz said.

"Yeah, what do you think, Chazz?" his other friend asked Chazz. Chazz on the other hand was seething in anger, upset with Jaden both for being apparently above him and for his overall attitude.

"Duel vest on," Crowler said as five cards popped out and he put them into his hand.

"Nice duel vest. Where can I get one of those cool looking blue duel blazers?" Jaden asked out of curiosity.

"Oh, a lot of hard work and extremely high marks," Crowler responded. He then thought to himself. "Of course a dropout boy like you shouldn't concern yourself with that, seeing as how you won't be here for very long at all."

"Well, I'm ready to duel!" Jaden called out.

"Let's duel!" both Crowler and Jaden called out at the same time.

"Here goes!" Jaden yelled as he drew a card. He just drew Elemental Hero Avian, which was the only monster card available in his hand. "Sweet. I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Avian in defense mode!" The Hero, wearing green and with claws and talons, was summoned to Jaden's side of the field (1000/1000). "I'll also throw down a facedown. Your move. Get your game on!" Jaden said as he finished his turn.

"Very good. Very good. Don't tell me what to do," Crowler grumbled to himself, irritated at how this dropout boy was trying to tell him what to do. He could tell that Jaden was using an Elemental Hero deck, which could mean that the kid was somewhat of a small-town Hero of sorts. However, Crowler planned to show Jaden how much wider the world can be by beating him in a duel with his own personal deck. "Okay, for my first move I'll play the spell card Confiscation."

"Okay. So whats it do?" Jaden asked the teacher.

"By paying 1000 Life Points, it allows me to take a look at your hand and send one of your cards for the graveyard," After looking over Jaden's cards, Crowler said, "Wow, looking at these cards I can tell that this truly is a dropout boy's deck."

"Why is he criticizing the deck that I put so much work into making like this?" Jaden wondered.

**Crowler**

**3000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**4000**

Back in the stands, Rainbow Dash was fuming. How could Crowler criticize Jaden's deck like this. He barely even got to see what his deck could do yet.

Similarly, Twilight and her friends were also not pleased. Sure they didn't get to know Jaden like Rainbow Dash did, but that still didn't mean that the teacher should be allowed to bully another student.

"I'll send Monster Reborn to the graveyard," Crowler decided as he sent the card to the graveyard. "Next, I'll play two cards facedown on the field. And last, but not least, I'll play Heavy Storm, which destroys all the spell and trap cards on the field." At this, all the spell and trap cards on both sides of the field were destroyed by a powerful gust of wind.

"Ooopsie. Didn't you forget that you had two trap cards on the field yourself?" Jaden quipped.

Crowler chuckled to himself before saying, "Now, now, you shouldn't talk out of turn young scholar."

"What's happening?" Jaden asked Crowler.

"Oh, nothing's happening. Not yet anyway," Crowler responded as two Wicked Tokens suddenly appeared on the field.

"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" Syrus was confused by what had occurred.

"Same here. I may know more about this game than I have before, but i still don't know every trick there is," Rainbow Dash was curious.

"The trap card that Crowler played was Statue of the Wicked, two at that. It allows for the user to summon a vicious token when destroyed. That is why he played Heavy Storm," Bastion Misawa explained to the confused duo.

"So, in other words, he can now tribute summon a powerful monster on his first turn," Rainbow Dash realized.

"Correct," Bastion confirmed.

Back with Chazz and his friends.

"Whoa, a card that strong couldn't be in one of the test decks. Crowler must be using his own," the blue haired teen said.

"Yeah, there is no way that an applicant could beat the deck of an expert like Dr. Crowler," the dark haired teen said.  
"Yeah, what do you think Chazz?"

"I think that our little friend isn't so special after all. In fact, I'm going to enjoy watching him lose," Chazz answered.

"What an elitist snob, bullying some amateur with his very best cards," a girl with blonde hair and wearing a white and blue outfit said to her friend.

"You're too soft, Alexis. Let's just hope that we get to see that legendary rare monster that Crowler has stashed away in that deck of his," another older teen, named Zane, said to Alexis.

"Are you ready for your next lesson?" Crowler asked from Jaden.

"Are you kidding? I can't remember the last time that learning was this much fun!" Jaden announced.

"Well I am just that good of a teacher," Crowler grumbled. "Now I sacrifice my two Wicked Tokens in order to summon my Ancient Gear Golem!" said golem, which was made up of many gears and scrap pieces rose onto the field (3000/3000).

Everyone was in awe upon seeing the rare golem. "There it is. The legendary Ancient Gear Golem," Alexis said in awe.

"And from the looks of it, we are about to see what makes it so legendary," Zane added on.

"Ancient Gear Golem? What's that?" Rarity asked her friends.

"It's a legendary and rare card that is the headliner of the Ancient Gear archetype. Not many of them were put into circulation," Twilight explained.

"Now, now. I hope you aren't too scared of my Ancient Gear Golem," Crowler falsely comforted.

"Are you kidding? I always wanted to take one on. I'm just surprised that you got it out so quickly," Jaden said.

This statement shocked everyone in the stands. "Either Jaden is brave or he's nuts," Syrus said in shock.

"He's staring down that legendary monster like he doesn't have a care in the world. Which is surprising considering that Crowler usually wins after playing that card. I guess the youth and inexperience have their benefits after all, huh Alexis?" Zane said, impressed by Jaden's spirit.

"Aw, come on Zane. Give it a rest. At least he's showing some backbone. Still, it's a bit sad that the kid might not even get into Duel Academy after all," Alexis defended sadly.

"Now, my golem, attack! Mechanized Melee!" Crowler called out. The golem proceeded to punch out Elemental Hero Avian.

"Aw, man. Jaden's monster didn't stand a chance. His defense points were way too low. This doesn't look good," Syrus was worried.

"And it's about to look even worse," Bastion interrupted. "You see, when Ancient Gear Golem attacks a monster in defense mode the difference between the golem's attack points and the other monster's defense points get dealt to the opponent as damage."

"Then that would mean… Jaden's Life Points are going to take a hit!" Syrus realized.

**Crowler**

**3000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2000**

Jaden, upon getting hit by the golem's fist and losing 2000 Life Points proceeded to crouch over slightly. "Don't feel bad. This is the top dueling school in the country. Some people simply aren't cut out for-for-," Crowler was saying, believing that he broke Jaden's spirit. However, the truth was Jaden wasn't crying, he was laughing.

"Boy, I really want to get into this school now, teach. You really are giving this duel your all," Jaden was impressed.

Crowler then thought to himself, "I'm only trying so hard so that you dropout will not be getting into this school. I will not let you make a mockery of me, the school, or my deck any longer!"

Jaden, meanwhile, was thinking to himself, "Doing great so far. Now is when I truly give it my all and show what I can do." As Jaden prepared to draw his next card, he heard a coo come from his dueling deck. "Huh? What was that?" Jaden drew his card, which turned out to be Winged Kuriboh. Thinking about what Yugi had told him earlier, he decided to put his trust in Winged Kuriboh and summon him. Jaden then said aloud, "Okay, I'll be summoning Winged Kuriboh in defense mode and place one card facedown. Pretty cool, huh Crowler?"

"Yes, while Winged Kuriboh is a rare card, it is still only a low level monster. My Ancient Gear Golem will still inflict piercing damage to it when I attack. Though, I suppose such a small-fry monster would fit a small-fry duelist like you." Crowler drew his next card. "Alright, Ancient Gear Golem, attack with Mechanized Melee!"

Ancient Gear Golem proceeded to attack Winged Kuriboh, with all that remained afterward being sparkles. "Sorry, Winged Kuriboh," Jaden apologized.

"Huh, what's going on? Why are your Life Points not going down?" Crowler was confused.

"Well, you see, that's the effect of Winged Kuriboh. On the turn he's destroyed I take zero damage," Jaden explained.

"Wow, what do you know? An effect that the good doctor didn't know," Alexis was intrigued.

"Well, there are some places that even the professors can't reach and effects they can't know. In that way, I suppose the dueling world is boundless," Zane explained to Alexis.

"Well, it was an effect that that kid knew then," Alexis said, impressed with Jaden.

As Jaden placed Winged Kuriboh in his graveyard, Crowler said, "Well, I guess your lame little monster saved you there."

"Hey, hold on! Just because you beat him doesn't give you the right to call him lame," Jaden protested.

"Oh, right. I apologize. I forget how attached you new duelists get with your cards," Crowler mock apologized.

"Well, you should be because Winged Kuriboh's cry for help will be heard thanks to my trap card Hero Signal!" Jaden yelled as he played his trap card. "With this card, I can summon my second Elemental Hero. Elemental Hero Burstinatrix!" With this, a red flame burst onto the field, forming to create said Elemental Hero, a lady wearing red spandex (1200/800). "It's my turn now!" Jaden said as he drew a card, which turned out to be Skyscraper. "All right, Winged Kuriboh. This next one is going to be for you. Here goes nothing. I play the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive in order to return Elemental Hero Avian to my hand. Next, I'll summon him back to the field."

After Avian returned to the field, Crowler was confused and confident. "So what? Those two are only Normal Monster cards playing Heroes. What good can they do?" Crowler responded.

"Well you see I know they aren't that good on their own, but when combined, they form a monster of much greater strength. Which is what I am going to summon now with Polymerization! Which I will use to create my favorite card, Elemental Hero Flame Wingman (2100/1200)! Now, we really are about to have a clash of the titans!" Jaden said, with his spirits rising high. "So, Crowler. What do you think?"

"Well, I think you are dueling quite well, for an amateur. But next time, try playing a card with more attack points than what is already out on the field," Crowler responded to Jaden's confidence.

"What does he mean?" Syrus asked Bastion.

"He means that the Wingman's attack power is no match for the Gear Golem's 3000. Shame too, because when the Wingman destroys a monster in battle, the attack points of the destroyed monster is dealt to the opponent's Life Points as damage," Bastion explained.

"Wow! That sounds like a great effect to have! So Awesome!" Rainbow Dash cried out.

"I know! That would have been a great way for Jaden to turn things around," Syrus said.

"Well, if your guy's friend is as good as he says he is he may just find a way to turn things around," Bastion gave hope to the two.

"Wow. Did we really seem like friends?" Syrus asked, not being used to having friends.

"Now young scholar, I am a busy man and I don't mean to rush you, but I have more work to do including one more duel after this. So if you're not done yet I suppose you get a move on," Crowler tried to hurry Jaden up.

"Of course I'm not done yet! And I knew that my Flame Wingman was weaker than your Golem's. That's why I'm going to play this. Skyscraper!" Jaden revealed as, to Crowler's shock, several buildings formed all across the field, with Flame Wingman standing atop the tallest building, being silhouetted by the moon. "Okay, Flame Wingman, go show those heroics and attack that Ancient Gear Golem!"

"Okay then, bring him on. Your silly little Skyscraper field spell hasn't dropped my Gear Golem's attack power by a single point," Crowler said over confidently as Flame Wingman flew towards his monster.

"You know what? You're right. My field spell hasn't lowered your monster's attack points. What is has actually done is increase my monster's attack points by a grand total of 1000!" Jasden revealed.

Crowler's confidence quickly fell into panic. "Wait! Time-out!"

"Now, attack with Skydive Scorcher!" E-Hero Flame Wingman's attack power went up from 2100 to 3100. He proceeded to attack and destroy Ancient Gear Golem, much to the shock of everyone present.

**Crowler**

**2900**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2000**

Crowler was in horror as his monster was falling apart around him. "No! This can't be happening! He was my very best card!"

"And, thanks to his special ability, the attack points of your Golem are dealt straight to your Life Points as damage. Sweet, huh?" Jaden said. At this, Crowler's Golem proceeded to fall over onto Crowler, lowering his Life Points from 2900 to 0. "That's game! So, I guess I passed, huh teach?"

"No way! This can't be happening! There is no way I could have lost to a dropout boy," Crowler was saying to himself.

Chazz, meanwhile, was equally as shocked as Crowler. "There's no way an examinee could have lost to Crowler. It must have been dumb luck, that's all!"

Alexis, meanwhile, was impressed. "Wow, that kid has a future here, huh Zane?" To Alexis's confusion, Zane responded by simply walking away, not having an opinion either way on Jaden Yuki.

Syrus and Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, were happy to see their new friend win. "Yes! I knew it! I knew he had it in him to win!" Rainbow Dash was cheering loudly.

Bastion, meanwhile, was thinking to himself, "I guess I can use some competition."

"I made it! I made it in!" Jaden was cheering to the crowd. "We're both in." Jaden said to Winged Kuriboh. "And from now on, we're going to be partners." After Jaden said this, Winged Kuriboh winked at Jaden.

"Grr.. Well, at least I can fail one dropout today," Crowler figured that he could defeat his other opponent. "Bring me the other student."

* * *

"So, Dr. Crowler, all I have to do is beat you and I get into the Academy?" Rainbow Dash was making sure. "If so, prepare to lose again because I will get into Duel Academy. You'll see.

"Hmm.. that is assuming that you do defeat me. I don't plan on losing again today.

"Well, then. Let's duel!" Rainbow Dash and Crowler said at the same time.

"I'll start this off," Crowler said. "And I'll play two cards facedown. Next, I play Heavy Storm! This card will destroy both of my facedowns." At this, two Wicked Tokens were summoned to Crowler's field. "Next, I play the spell card Double Summon. This card lets me normal summon twice in one turn. First, I summon Ancient Gear Soldier to the field in defense mode." A soldier made of scrap metal and gears was summoned, crouching down on one knee(1300/1300). "Lastly, I'll tribute both of my tokens in order to summon Ancient Gear Golem!" Once again, a giant made of scrap and gears (3000/3000). "That will be it for my turn."

"That all? Please. I can defeat your monsters in no time flat. My turn!" Rainbow Dash said full of confidence. "And I'll start my turn by playing Pot of Greed, which lets me draw two cards. And, my hand is looking good."

"You must be joking," Crowler said in vain, not wanting to lose again.

"Well, you think wrong. I now special summon Vice Dragon from my hand!" a purple dragon was summoned onto the field (2000/2400). "You see, I can special summon this beast from my hand if you control a monster and I don't. Of course, summoning him this way cuts his strength in half (1000/1200). Next, I summon Dark Resonator in attack mode." A strange fiend was summoned onto Rainbow's field (1300/300).

"So, any reason you summoned these two monsters or are you just messing with me?" Crowler asked, seeing as how weak both of Rainbow's monsters were.

"Oh, there is more to my move. I now tune my Dark Resonator with my Vice Dragon in order to Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" Everyone but the Mane 5 and Spike were immediately shocked. Most people had heard of the unique new summoning method, but to actually see a student summon a Synchro monster was unheard of. The mighty dragon was summoned onto Rainbow's field in attack mode (3000/2000).

"A Synchro Monster?!" Crowler was completely shocked.

"Any last words before I win?"  
"How about a nice try, but no dice! Our monster's attack points are equal. There is no way you can stop me," Crowler gloated.

"Hmm. I thought you'd say that. That is why I also have this. Block Attack. Which I will use to switch your monster into defense mode." The mighty golem suddenly started to crouch on one knee. "And next, I'll activate Monster Reborn to bring back my Vice Dragon, now at full strength (2000/2400). Now, Red Dragon Archfiend, attack Ancient Gear Soldier!" the mighty dragon attacked and destroyed the soldier, which to everyone's shock, also destroyed Ancient Gear Golem as well.

"Wait, what happened?! Where is my Ancient Gear Golem?!"

"Surprised? I guess you should be. You see, when the Red Dragon Archfiend destroys a defense position, it can destroy all monsters on the opponent's field in defense mode. But I'm not done yet. Next I activate Trap Booster, discarding one card in order to play this trap, Lineage of Destruction! By playing this card, I can allow my Red Dragon Archfiend to attack you once again this turn."

"Wait, stop!" Crowler cried out.

"Red Dragon Archfiend, attack with Absolute Powerforce!" the dragon attacked Crowler directly, reducing his Life Points from 4000 to 1000.

**Crowler**

**1000**

**Rainbow Dash**

**4000**

"And I'm not done yet! Vice Dragon, attack Crowler directly!" Vice Dragon sliced at Crowler, reducing his Life Points to 0. "Well, looks like I win!" Rainbow Dash cheered loudly as she went to look for her friends, which all embraced her in a hug when she found them.

"Congratulations, Rainbow Dash. You're in the Academy!" Twilight congratulated her friend.

"How do you feel?" Fluttershy asked her.

"I feel great!" Rainbow Dash said as she looked towards Jaden and Syrus, hoping that she would see more from her two new friends while at Duel Academy.


	5. Welcome to Duel Academy

A helicopter was on its way to Duel Academy, which was on an island with an active volcano. On said island, there were a few buildings that were to house and teach the various students that had successfully passed their entrance exam.

"Attention Duel Academy students. If you look out the window you will see your own home away from home." Said the helicopter's pilot. Everyone was amazed as they looked out the window to get a good look at the island. "Now, now. Please don't shove. Now, fasten your seatbelts and get your chairs into an upright position. We are going in for a landing. Next stop, Academy Island."

* * *

Everyone, including the Mane 6, were gathered together in a room inside of the main school building. Jaden had nodded off while standing up.

"Good morning and welcome my students. My name is Chancellor Sheppard, and you are all the brightest and best duel students in the world. Now please head over to your dorms. I think you'll find yourself comfortable, depending on how well you ranked anyway."

* * *

"Don't know about you, Syrus, but I am in the Slifer Red dorm," Jaden said.

"That's cool. Same as me," Syrus said.

"Hello, you two. How's it hanging?" Rainbow Dash asked as she approached the duo.

"Doing great! So, you in Slifer Red then?" Jaden asked.

"Of course! Normally, I'd be in Obelisk Blue, but Chancellor Sheppard thinks that me and my friends should be in a variety of different dorms," Rainbow Dash announced.

Bastion and Twilight started to walk on by the group. "Hey Bastion, you and your friend in Slifer Red too?" Jaden asked.

"Let's see. Yellow sleeves. Yellow buttons. No, I don't think so," Bastion snarked.

"Oh, so I see that you're in Ra Yellow, Twilight," Rainbow Dash figured. "I guess that Slifer Red is the best of the best, huh?"

"Actually, Rainbow Dash, Slifer Red is the lowest of the three dorm colors. You see, Obelisk Blue is the highest in position and are made up of those with the highest grades and/or big connections. Then, there's Ra Yellow, which makes up students with plenty of potential. Lastly, Slifer Reds are on the bottom and are considered having very little potential," Twilight explained to her friend.

"Wait, so we're on the bottom?!" Rainbow Dash was shocked and disappointed that she and her new friends were at the bottom.

"Man, we're really bad aren't we?" Syrus figured.

"Hey, calm down guys. The school year has just started. We can't be the worst yet. Besides, the term red hot comes from red," Jaden tried to calm down his two friends.

"Maybe you have a point, Jaden," Syrus was starting to feel a little better.

"Well, I'm still disappointed. I wanted to be at the top. It would be fitting for my awesomeness," Rainbow Dash wasn't feeling too great.

"Aw, come on Rainbow Dash. It isn't that bad," Twilight comforted. "Think of it this way. You can build yourself up to the top from the bottom ranks, you know."

"Hey, you're right Twilight. I can build myself up to be bigger and better. You'll see. In no time flat the three of us will be in Obelisk Blue for sure.

"Well, if you three are done, I have to go and see my own dorm room. Farewell," Bastion said as he left.

"Well, you heard Bastion. We should probably go to our dorms and check in before we do anything else. Good luck you three," Twilight said goodbye as she walked away.

"Don't worry, Twilight. We won't need luck. They broke the mold when the three of us first formed a group," Jaden boasted.

* * *

Eventually, Rainbow, Jaden, and Syrus were able to find their dorm and Rainbow Dash and Syrus were far from impressed. "This isn't a dorm! It's like an outhouse with a deck," Syrus said in disappointment.

"You kidding? Look at this view!" Jaden showed that he was impressed with the view of the ocean he had from the deck.

Eventually, the three of them were able to find their room, which was located on the second floor. "Well, here we are. We found our room," Jaden said as he opened up the door and saw how small the room was. "Wow, this looks like a sweet pad for us to stay in during our first year."

"Well, looks like we're going to have to find a way to make this room work," Rainbow Dash tried to be optimistic.

"Wait, you will be rooming with us?! Syrus was confused. "But, you're a girl!"

"I know, but there weren't any free rooms for me and Applejack to stay in alone, at least from what Twilight said. So, we have to bunk with other students and hope the opposite gender doesn't peek. Don't worry. I wouldn't let anyone look at me like that, so just don't look at me while I change and we'll all be good, okay?" Rainbow Dash warned her friends.

"Um, okay," Syrus started to blush.

"Well, I for one am ready to go look for adventure on this island!" Jaden announced.

"Yeah. Let's go!" Rainbow Dash agreed.

"B-but what about unpacking?" Syrus called out to the two as they left the dorm room.

"Aw, we can get that done later!" Rainbow Dash started to run down the stairs outside.

Syrus wanted to just stay here and unpack. However, leaving Rainbow and Jaden alone concerned him enough that he decided to follow after them.

* * *

Fluttershy and Rarity had no difficulty with finding their rooms in the female Obelisk Blue dorms. In fact, the two were excited to have these high quality rooms to stay in. After finishing unpacking, the two of them decided to check in with their friends and look around the campus.

"Ah, the beauty of this island is pretty great, don't you think so Rarity?" Fluttershy asked her friend.

"Well, I suppose there is some beauty to… nature," Rarity was less enthusiastic than her nature loving friend. "At the very least, I guess I can think up some more outfit designs while I'm here.

"I guess that is a good way of looking at it, Rarity," Fluttershy tried to agree with her friend.

As the duo were walking towards the main building, they ran into what appeared to be a dalmatian on a skateboard. Following her was another male dalmatian. Curious as to what these two were doing, Fluttershy followed after them with Rarity reluctantly following right behind her.

Eventually, the two girls found the two dalmatians sitting in front of a three story house, arguing with each other.

"Relax, Dylan. What exactly is the problem with me skateboarding around the campus anyway? What, the fun police are going to come and give us a strike?" the female dalmatian was questioning.

"Listen, Dolly. If you keep up this behavior, there is a good chance that we will no longer be able to stay on campus. We'll lose our current home!" the male dalmatian, named Dylan, warned.

"Um, hello you two," Fluttershy interrupted the two dogs. "Listen, there is no need to argue you know. Dolly, you can have fun on campus as long as you keep safe. Dylan, don't worry too much about your mate's behavior. At the very least the two of us won't say anything, right Rarity?"

"To be fair, I have no idea what these two are saying so I can't really answer you properly, but I guess we won't say anything about the skateboarding dog," Rarity responded to her animal loving friend.

"Wait. You think we're-" Dolly realized what Fluttershy was thinking.

"A couple?! Ew! We're step siblings!" both Dolly and Dylan said at once. "Wait, you can understand us?"

"Of course. I can understand animals of all kinds from dogs to birds to snakes," Fluttershy explained.

"Wow, cool. Maybe we can talk some more sometime. I would love to talk more about Duel Monsters with someone at some point. None of my other siblings are interested," Dylan said.

"Yeah, like she would like to hear some of your nerding out over a card game," Dolly teased.

"Actually, I would love to talk with you at some point and maybe I can talk with your other siblings as well," Fluttershy said, trying to be polite.

"Um, Fluttershy? I don't know about you, but I would rather we get going soon. These two do seem sweet, but we should probably look around campus more before the welcome dinner," Rarity tried to convince her friend to leave for now.

"Oh, well, I'll see you later!" Fluttershy said as she left the outside of the home of the dalmatians, with Rarity following after her.

* * *

"Aw, look at this duel arena, guys," Jaden was amazed upon seeing the duel arena for the school.

"Yeah, I know. It looks totally state of the art," Syrus complimented the arena.

"Well, I guess it's cool," Rainbow Dash simply said, not knowing what to think seeing as how she hadn't seen any other duel arena before.

"It's beyond cool. Hey, Rainbow Dash, maybe the two of us could have a duel here," Jaden goaded on his friend.

"Really? Do you think we are allowed?" Syrus asked.

"Well, I think it sounds like an awesome idea, Jaden. Besides, this is our campus so we probably would be allowed to duel here," Rainbow Dash said ecstatically.

"Wrong! This is the Blue Obelisk's campus you Slifer Red rejects," A blue haired kid said to the three of them.

"You Slifer Reds aren't allowed here. See the crest?" A brown haired kid pointed out. Upon turning around, the trio saw a carving of the head of Obelisk the Tormentor above the entrance.

"This arena is our turf, you three so leave," the blue haired kid said.

"Don't get mad. We were just looking around. We'll leave now, right Jaden?" Syrus meekly tried to avoid conflict.

"Well, we don't have to leave. Not so long as one of you agrees to duel me," Jaden boasted.

"Or me. I don't take well to bullies, you two," Rainbow Dash warned the duo.

"Hey, it's that kid!" the blue haired kid said.

"Yeah. Hey, Chazz, it's the applicant that defeated Dr. Crowler and that girl who also beat him afterward," the brown haired kid said.

Chazz simply sneered at the trio, not really interested in them at all.

"Oh, hello there. Chad, was it?" Jaden checked for the name.

"His name is Chazz Princeton and he was the best duelist back at duelist prep school," the blue haired kid said.

"Yeah. Show your respect to him. He's going to be the future King of Games, baby," the brown haired kid said.

"That's not possible," Jaden said matter of factly.

"Say what?!" the brown haired kid was outraged.

"You see, he can't be the next King of Games because that is what I'm going to be," Jaden explained his line of thinking.

"Or, maybe it will be me," Rainbow Dash boasted.

In response, the two kids laughed hard at what Jaden and Rainbow Dash had claimed. Eventually, the laughing stopped and the bullying continued.

"You two? Slifer slackers being the next King of Games? That'll be the day," the blue haired kid put down.

Rainbow Dash was seething, unhappy with the bullying that the Obelisk Blue students were doing. She was about to do or say something when suddenly Chazz stopped his friends.

"Stop it you two. Maybe our mouthy friends are right. After all, they did defeat Dr. Crowler and that rare Ancient Gear Golem of his. I suppose it takes at least some skill to pull that off. Or was it luck? I say we find out right now, starting with our confident friend," Chazz mocked the duo.

"Um?" Jaden and Rainbow Dash were confused, not really sure who Chazz was referring to do.

"Urgh, the boy, okay?!" Chazz growled in annoyance.

"Fine with me. Bring it on!" Jaden boasted, ready to duel.

"This sure is a motley crew," Alexis said as she entered the arena.

"Wow. Who is that?" Syrus wanted to know.

"Hey, Alexis. You want to see me mop the floor with my little friend Jaden? It'll be a short duel, but an entertaining one," Chazz boasted, much to Rainbow Dash's anger.

"I'm here to remind you of the Obelisk's welcome dinner. You're late," Alexis explained.

"Oh. Come on guys," Chazz said as he and his friends left the arena.

"Sorry if Chazz rubbed you the wrong way. Not all Obelisks are like that. He's just a jerk, especially with Slifers," Alexis apologized.

"Hey, it's no big deal. Those types don't really bother me anyway. Besides, I'd have beaten him in one turn," Jaden boasted.

"We need to work on that overconfidence of yours," Syrus said.

"Okay, maybe two turns. Maybe two and a half," Jaden tried to be less boastful, only for the others to laugh. "What?"

"Well, your guys' welcome dinner is about to start too," Alexis explained.

"Well, we better get a move on," Jaden started to run.

"Yeah. I'll race you," Rainbow Dash competitively said as she began to run as well.

"Hey, guys. Wait for me," Syrus said, wanting the two of them to slow down.

Before Jaden and Rainbow Dash left completely, Jaden stopped and turned around running in place, asking, "By the way, what was your name again?"

"Alexis Rhodes. And yours?" Alexis answered.

"Jaden Yuki. Later." Jaden answered back.

"Hey, aren't you going to introduce me?" Syrus complained to Jaden, with Rainbow Dash having gotten ahead of the two. The two began to run after Rainbow Dash and to the welcome dinner.

* * *

Everyone went to their dorms to have their welcome dinners. The Obelisk Blue and Ra Yellow dorms had fancy and expensive welcome dinners. Slifer Red, on the other hand, simply had white rice, curry, and fish for the dinner, much to the disappointment of the students. It was here that the students got introduced to their headmaster, Professor Banner. He decided that his students should say things about themselves before they eat. Rainbow Dash and Jaden, on the other hand, started eating their rice and gobbling it down fast. Because of this, Banner decided to just have everyone eat instead.

After dinner, the students returned to their dorm rooms. Rainbow Dash and Jaden were lying down on the floor, stuffed from all that they ate.

"Man, I'm stuffed. That Professor Banner sure can cook, huh?" Jaden said.

"Yeah, and he seems pretty nice too," Syrus complimented their headmaster.

"Yeah. Maybe it won't be so bad being in Slifer Red for a while," Rainbow Dash calmly said.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Syrus walked over and opened the door, with Applejack being on the other side. "Hello there. You must be Syrus."

"Um, yeah. What are you doing here?" Syrus was confused as to why she was here.

"I'm here to talk to Rainbow Dash," Applejack said. "We have important things to talk about."

"Aw, can't that wait until tomorrow?" Rainbow Dash complained.

Before Applejack could protest any further, there was a sudden ring from Jaden's PDA. Upon answering it, Jaden learned that Chazz was the one on the other line. "Hey Slifer Slacker. Don't think that you're off the hook. Tonight, at midnight, it's on. Oh, and why don't we make it interesting? Whoever wins gets the loser's best card."

"Cool. Looks like I'll be able to duel at that arena after all," Jaden was happy.

"Are you sure you should duel this late? After all, it is pretty late and you could get in trouble," Applejack warned.

"And miss the opportunity for a good duel? No way!" Jaden countered.

"Yeah, Applejack. Besides, Chazz deserves to be put in his place. This is just getting even with him," Rainbow Dash tried to justify this duel.

"Fine, but I'm going with you," Applejack decided.

* * *

A few hours later, the group arrived at the duel arena.

"Well, well, well. He shows," Chazz said with a sadistic smirk.

"Yeah, like I would ever miss this," Jaden was left unconcerned.

"Jaden, wait up!" Syrus rushed after Jaden.

"We're going to see if you defeating Dr. Crowler was a fluke or a fact," Chazz remarked.

"Yeah, well we're going to find out something else too. Like which one of us is going to be the next King of Games," Jaden said full of confidence.

"Yeah, well just be ready to hand over your best card when you lose," Chazz countered.

"Same here, Chazz. Get your game on," Jaden countered, not at all threatened.

"Duel!" both students yelled out.

"I'll start things off," Chazz began to look at his hand as he selected his first monster to summon. "I'll summon Reborn Zombie in defense mode." A rotting zombie was summoned onto Chazz's field crouching on one knee (1000/1600). "I'll also be placing one card facedown."

"Well, that's one way to start a duel. But for my first turn I'm going to go a little bigger," Jaden boasted as he began his turn. As Jaden looked in his hand, he noticed Winged Kuriboh on the far right of his hand. "Oh hey Winged Kuriboh. Maybe I'll use you later, but for now I'm going to use Polymerization in order to fuse Avian and Burstinatrix in order to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman in attack mode!" The Flame Wingman was summoned to the field ready to strike (2100/1200). "I told you I'd start big."

"I was hoping you would," Chazz said with a sinister grin.

"Why's that?" Jaden started to get concerned.

"Because the card I played facedown was a trap, slacker. Go Chthonian Polymer!"

"What does Chthonian Polymer do?" Syrus asked nervously.

"Can't tell ya," Rainbow Dash shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought I'd find you guys here," a voice suddenly said. The voice came from Alexis.

"Alexis?" Syrus was surprised to see her here.

"Chthonian Polymer is a nasty trap that allows for you to take control of an opponent's fusion monster by sacrificing a monster.

"But Jaden just summoned a fusion monster!" Syrus yelled in concern.

"That can't be good," Applejack quipped as she crossed her arms.

"So, I'll be sacrificing my Reborn Zombie in order to take control of your Flame Wingman," Chazz grinned maliciously. As the monster was sacrificed, Flame Wingman was surrounded by flames as he sunk into the ground. He returned onto Chazz's field with a slightly darker design. "You're so predictable Jaden. You couldn't stop talking about your Flame Wingman at the exam, so I knew you would use him soon."

"Yeah? Well don't forget that since Flame Wingman was a special summon I'm still allowed to summon another monster this turn," Jaden reminded Chazz. "I summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode. That'll do."

"Yeah, well get ready to be knocked down. I summon Chthonian Soldier in attack mode (1200/1400). Now, Flame Wingman, attack with Skydive Scorcher!" Chazz called out. Flame Wingman surrounded himself with flames as he dashed into Clayman from above. "And don't forget that thanks to Flame Wingman's super power, you take damage equal to your destroyed monster's attack points." Flame Wingman appeared in front of Jaden and blew out flames from his dragon-like hand. "Don't think I'm done yet either. Chthonian Soldier, attack him directly! Windstorm Slash!" Jaden got slashed by the soldier's sword, causing Jaden to fall onto his knees in pain. "You starting to see your place here at the academy yet, Slacker? Maybe you were somebody back at home, but here in the big leagues, you're nothing but an amatuer, Slifer Slime!" Chazz placed a card facedown. "I'll end my turn with a facedown card. It's your turn, Slacker."

**Chazz Princeton**

**4000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2000**

Jaden then appeared to be crying, which got the attention of everyone in the room. Rainbow Dash was angry with Chazz and wanted to punch him, though she was held back by Applejack. Syrus was starting to get worried, while Alexis was similarly concerned. "Aw, what's the matter? You gonna cry, you big baby?" Suddenly, everyone realized that just like his duel with Crowler,  
Jaden wasn't crying. He was laughing.

"Aw, man this is so much fun. Exactly what I came here for. The trash talking, the action, it's all so great! Now, I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode!" A warrior dressed in yellow and blue was summoned to Jaden's field (1600/1400). "Now, attack with Static Shockwave!" Sparkman proceeded to launch some electricity at Chthonian Soldier, destroying him and reducing Chazz's Life Points from 4000 to 3600. All of a sudden, Chthonian Soldier's sword sliced itself through Jaden, inflicting 400 points of damage to his Life Points.

**Chazz Princeton**

**3600**

**Jaden Yuki**

**1600**

"Still think it's so great? Because when Chthonian Soldier is destroyed, you take the same amount of damage to your Life Points that I did. The difference is you have hardly any to spare!" Chazz boasted as he was close to victory.

"Hey! Why do you keep thinking that you are above us anyway?! We're all new students at this school and we all should be treated with respect!" Applejack complained, with venom dipping from her voice.

"Simple. We all may be new students, but we Obelisks are higher ranked than you Slifer Reds," Chazz explained his philosophy.

"Can I punch him now?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Still no," Applejack denied so thay her friend wouldn't get into trouble.

"This duel is almost over. Soon your rarest card is about to be all mine!" Chazz boasted.

"That's what you think! I'll throw down a facedown and end my turn," Jaden said as he set a card.

"Play what you like. This duel will be over with my next attack. Now, go Flame Wingman, attack!" Chazz yelled out.

"Not so fast! I play my facedown!" Jaden cried out as he played his set card Mirror Gate.

"It's Mirror Gate!" Syrus and Rainbow said at once.

"Then Jaden is still in this duel," Alexis was relieved. "Mirror Gate switches the side that both opposing monsters are on. So now that Flame Wingman is back with Jaden."

Both monsters began to clash, with electricity surging throughout the field as they did so. Eventually, Sparkman was destroyed and Chazz's Life Points went down to 3100.

"And don't forget my Wingman's super power," Jaden announced. "You take damage equal to that of the destroyed monster!" Flame Wingman shot out excess electricity at Chazz, with his LIfe Points dropping to 1500.

"Way to go Jaden!" Syrus cheered on his friend.

"Awesome way to fight back! And good job getting back your Hero as well!" Rainbow Dash cheered Jaden on.

"Good moves Jaden," Alexis said.

Applejack nodded, happy to see Jaden counter Chazz's tactics.

"Well, that won't last for long. I play the Quickplay spell card Chthonian Blast. Since you destroyed one of my monsters, I get to destroy one of yours and inflict damage to your Life Points equal to half of that monster's points," Chazz explained as Flame Wingman was destroyed.

**Chazz Princeton**

**1500**

**Jaden Yuki**

**550**

"Flame Wingman…" Jaden was disappointed that he lost his favorite monster once again.

"Next, I'll play the trap card Call of the Haunted. It allows me to revive a monster of mine from the graveyard in attack mode. Rise, Chthonian Soldier. But he won't be around for long, as I'm going to sacrifice him in order to summon Mefist the Infernal General," Chazz turned the duel around in his favor again.

"Not bad," Jaden simply said.

"Not bad? Man, you are something else Slacker. Still, there is no way you and your monsters are getting out of this," Chazz gloated.

"Well, we'll see about that," Jaden said. Suddenly, he heard a coo from Winged Kuriboh. "I know he's wrong Winged Kuriboh. Because my monsters and I, we have a bond!" Jaden said as he drew his next card. "Speaking of…"

Suddenly, Alexis heard the sound of footsteps from the hallway. "Guys, we're in trouble. It's campus security. If we get caught, we'll be seriously busted.

"Why would we be in trouble?" Rainbow Dash was confused.

"Yeah, besides, we're all students here," Jaden was also confused.

"You see, the rules say no off hour dueling in the duel arena. Chazz knows this, but let me guess. He didn't tell you," Alexis said.

"I'm leaving," Chazz announced as he turned to leave.

"Wait, what about the duel?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Don't tell me you're leaving already.

"Rainbow Dash, now is not the time!" Applejack was enraged at her cocky friend's desire to see the battle end.

"I got what I came here to see. You beating Dr. Crowler was just a fluke. Goodbye, Slacker," Chazz said as he left.

"Jaden, let's go," Alexis said.

"Yeah, come on!" Syrus pleaded with his friend.

"Seriously? Aw, man! I had him on the ropes!" Jaden was disappointed.

* * *

Thankfully, everyone was able to leave before they could be caught by the security guards.

"Thanks for showing us the back way out Alexis," Syrus thanked the girl.

"Yeah, some people just had to be stubborn," Applejack said in regards to Jaden and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey! I'm only stubborn when it comes to my dueling," Jaden protested. "But, look on the bright side, I know that I would have won the duel if we continued.

"Really? No offense, Jaden, but it looked like things could have gone either way between you and Chazz," Alexis said.

"No way! Not after I drew this!" Jaden said as he revealed the card he drew on his last turn; Monster Reborn!


	6. A Duel in Love

"Duel monster cards can be grouped into normal monster cards, fusion monster cards, ritual monster cards, effect monster cards, trap cards, and spell cards," Alexis announced to Dr. Crowler, answering the question that was asked of her during the class. "Trap cards can be divided into normal traps, counter traps, and continuous traps. Spell cards can be separated into normal spells, continuous spells, equip spells, quick-play spells, ritual spells, and field spells."

"Perfect!" Crowler sang. "Well done, Alexis. Though I wouldn't expect any less from one of my Blue Obelisks."

"Yes, Dr. Crowler," Alexis said as she sat back down.

"Hmm. Now who should we question next?" Crowler said as he looked around the classroom, eventually making his choice. "You, Syrus Truesdale?" Syrus nervously stood up. "Tell us all what a field spell does, please."

"A field spell is-uh a thing that-uh affects the thing-"Syrus nervously bumbled out.

"Even pre duelers know the answer to this ya Slifer Slacker!" One Obelisk Blue student yelled out, making fun of the poor student. Many of the Obelisk Blue students laughed at this, with even Chazz giving a smirk in satisfaction at the poor display occurring before him.

"No, I know. It's uh…" Syrus tried to answer, but his stage fright was getting the better of him, with his cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment. Meanwhile, students like Rarity, Twilight, Bastion, Applejack, and Fluttershy were disappointed in how Syrus couldn't answer the question and were unhappy with how everyone else was treating him because of it. Pinkie Pie was trying to remain still and not say anything comforting as she wasn't allowed to move from her seat. Rainbow Dash was angry at Crowler and the students and needed to be held back by Applejack to ensure that she wouldn't act out and hurt anyone.

"Hey, don't worry Sy, you got this," Jaden tried to comfort.

"I think not. Sit down. Now can someone please give me the right answer to the question, please?" Crowler said, and then he muttered under his breath, "Preferably someone not wearing red, thank you?" At this, many of the Obelisk Blue students laughed.

"Aw man. I blew it. I made all of the Slifers look bad," Syrus moaned in disappointment.

"You know, teach? You really shouldn't make fun of us Slifers like that," Jaden suddenly said with a smile on his face. "I mean I'm a Slifer and I beat ya. So when you're making fun of us you're really making fun of yourself."

"And you lost to me too, so that makes you look even worse, Dr. Crowler," Rainbow Dash quipped.

At this, Crowler was seething. He got out his handkerchief and bit on it hard. He then thought to himself, "That's it! I won't tolerate this dropout boy or his friend being in my school for another second! I will see to it that they are taken down, starting with Jaden!"

* * *

As the next class started, Syrus took it upon himself to thank his two saviours from last class. "Hey, Jaden? Rainbow Dash? Thanks!"

"You're welcome. For what?" Jaden and Rainbow Dash both thanked, while half-asleep.

"For defending me during the last class," Syrus explained.

Suddenly, the teacher, Professor Banner, turned his attention over to Syrus. "Uh oh. Looks like I may have to defend you again," Jaden said quietly.

"Syrus?" Professor Banner began, with Syrus nervously jumping out of his seat.

"Um, yeah?" Syrus nervously got out.

"Can you please bring Pharaoh over here?" Banner kindly asked.

"Uh, Pharaoh?" Syrus was confused.

"Unless you are majoring as a scratch post," Banner joked. Syrus looked down only to see that Pharaoh the cat was rubbing up against his leg, a sight that caused many students to laugh.

* * *

Crowler was in his office writing a mysterious letter, petting his brown and pampered dog named Clarissa as he did so. As he did so, he was thinking to himself about Jaden. The boy had got on his nerves from the beginning for being an obvious dropout boy. However, the fact that he had got into Duel Academy, was making a mockery of him in front of the rest of his class, and got that other dropout Rainbow Dash to also make a mockery of him in a duel was too much for him to stomach. Well, no more. He was going to get Jaden expelled from this academy, and he knew just how he was going to do it. "Yes, yes, Clarissa. That no good dropout boy will finally get what he deserves," Crowler said to Clarissa.

"Yes, yes. That is a splendid idea. If only you could do the same to those rotten dalmatians," Clarissa said to herself, knowing that Crowler wouldn't understand her barks.

After he finished writing the letter, Crowler proceeded to apply some lipstick to his lips, using a personal sized mirror to help him. After he was done, Crowler proceeded to kiss the back of the envelope that the letter was now sealed in, laughing maniacally as he did so.

* * *

During gym class, Crowler snuck into the empty boy's locker room, looking for Jaden's locker. One by one, he opened up the lockers until he found shoes with Jaden's name on the inside of them in one of the lockers. Believing that the locker was Jaden's, Crowler left the letter inside of the locker on top of Jaden's shoes, grinning widely all the while. Afterward, Crowler left the locker room, believing that his plan was sure to succeed.

A few minutes later, Syrus arrived in the locker room, having been late because he accidentally went into the girl's locker room. Upon opening his locker, he noticed Jaden's sneakers in his locker, "Hey, those are Jaden's sneakers. Well, I guess he's still using my locker." Syrus grabbed Jaden's sneakers and pulled them out of the locker. The letter proceeded to fall out of Syrus's locker, which Syrus then noticed."But this isn't Jaden's!" Syrus looked to his left and right, making sure he was alone before he opened the envelope and read the letter."Wonder who gave me the letter. Usually all I get is letters from my mother. 'Since the moment I first saw you I've been in love with you. Please meet me behind the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm endearingly, Alexis Rhodes.'" Syrus fell to the ground in shock. "Wow, that letter was better than what my mom usually writes to me." Syrus was extremely happy to have gotten the letter. Not only was an Obelisk Blue in love with him, it was Alexis, who was both incredibly beautiful and kind. Syrus couldn't help but be enamoured by the letter he thought was for him.

* * *

Later that night...

"Hey Syrus, the outhouse is all yours if you want it," Jaden said as he returned to his dorm room, drying off his wet hair. However, when he returned, he noticed that Syrus was gone. "Hey, Rainbow Dash. Do you know where syrus went off to?"

"Oh, he left a while ago. Saying something about seeing his beloved. Personally, I couldn't care less about that romantic gunk, but at least he seemed happy and confident about it," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Hmm, happy doesn't seem typical of Syrus, but oh well," Jaden brushed off.

* * *

Dr. Crowler was sneaking around the girl's dorm wearing a full body wetsuit that was charcoal gray. "This will be perfect, thanks to that faux love letter I wrote!" Crowler was excited. "Jaden will come here looking for Alexis, and all he'll find is trouble. When he gets here, I'll snap a picture. Ha ha. And I will have caught him breaking campus rules. He'll be ruined!"

Meanwhile, in the outside bath for Obelisk Blue girls…  
"Can you believe what that Jaden kid said to Dr. Crowler in class today? Talking to a teacher like that? Completely disrespectful. Don't you think so Alexis?" Jasmine, a girl with brown hair said.

Alexis then answered, "Actually, I think it was kinda cool." Alexis said with a dreamy tone of voice.

"What?! Him, cool?" Jasmine was outraged.

"Well, he might be if he has the talent to back it up," Mindy, a girl with black hair, said.

"I think he just might. Still, I won't know for certain until I duel him myself," Alexis explained to her two friends.

Meanwhile, back outside the bath…

Crowler was waiting for Jaden to arrive so that he could get Jaden expelled for breaking campus rules. Crowler was happy to see a figure in red walking up to the bushes he was hiding in. "That's it Jaden. Right into my trap like the Slifer sap you are," Crowler whispered expectantly.

Eventually the figure could be seen through the bushes that Crowler was hiding in. However, instead of Jaden, like Crowler was expecting, it was Syrus. "Alexis!" Syrus called out.

At this, Crowler shot up and out of the bushes in shock. "That's not Jaden! It's that stammering field spell nitwit!"

Suddenly, a girl walked by, confused at the voice she had just heard, "Who's there?" Crowler was nervous at the prospect of being caught, which he did. "It's a boy!" a girl yelled out as more girls in their pajamas came out to chase away the intruder or to just gawk.

"I'm not a boy! I'm a man! I-I mean-you know forget it!" Crowler yelled as he covered his face and turned around to leave. "You don't know me. You don't know me. You don't know me." Crowler muttered as he tried to leave, only to fall and sink into the lake.

Syrus, however, wasn't so fortunate. Being like a deer caught in the headlights, he was caught by the girls and two of them held his arms behind his back to keep him from leaving while the rest of them surrounded him. "Let go! Please!" As Syrus said this, he looked up and saw Alexis's two friends wrapped in towels. He also saw Rarity and Fluttershy in the background.

"Not until you tell us why you're here. And it better be good!" Jasmine warned.

* * *

After Alexis and her friends got properly dressed, they took Syrus into the Obelisk Blue girl's dorm with his hands tied together by a rope with the other end being held to keep Syrus from escaping. Rarity and Fluttershy were also in the room, listening in the background.

"A love letter from Alexis? You've got to be kidding!" Mindy said in disbelief.

"Yup! Ask her!," Syrus said with a wink, enamoured with the Obelisk Blue girl.

"Hello? Alexis is really tall and you're really short. She's really good at dueling and you're really not. She's really hot and-," Jasmine was saying, refusing to believe that Alexis and Syrus could ever work.

"Really. It's true. Tell them Alexis. I even have the note right here," Syrus said as he got out the note from his pocket. "Look, see?"

Jasmine grabbed the letter and the girls looked it over. Once they were done, Alexis pointed out, "Syrus, my name isn't even spelled right here."

"Sorry, Syrus, but I think someone is yanking your chain," Mindy apologized.

"Wait, so then you don't love me?" Syrus was starting to get disappointed.

Jasmine then noticed something else, "Hey! This letter is made out to Jaden Yuki."

"Wait, Jaden?! But-," Jasmine then proceeded to show him the letter, confirming that it was for Jaden, not for him. "Aw, so I can't even get a fake love letter."

"I'm sorry Syrus," Alexis apologized sympathetically.

"Me too," Syrus responded.

After a moment of silence, Jasmine proceeded to speak up. "I don't buy it."

"What?" Mindy didn't see what point her friend was making.

"He could have written the letter to have an excuse to come here," Jasmine explained.

"So, do you think we should report him for trespassing then?" Mindy wondered.

"But I was invited! I swear!" Syrus tried to plead with the girls.

Finally, after all of this talking, Fluttershy and Rarity butted into the conversation. "Now hold on. I think he may be telling the truth," Rarity defended Syrus.

"Huh?" Jasmine was confused.

"Yeah. If he wanted to write it himself, he wouldn't have used Jaden's name on the letter," Fluttershy explained.

"Wait, you're defending him?! Seriously?!" Mindy was outraged.

"Maybe we should test him then." Rarity got out a pen from her pocket. "Here, Syrus. Write down Alexis's name as though you were writing a letter." She handed the pen and a blank sheet of paper to Syrus. After a minute of writing, he turned in the paper, with the name being written differently than it was on the letter. "See? The writing is different. There is no way it could be Syrus. He's innocent."

"How do we know he just isn't writing differently intentionally?" Jasmine was still unconvinced.

"Personally, I think that Syrus is telling the truth," Alexis began to say. "But still-" before she could finish her thought, they were all interrupted by the gym teacher, nurse, and female dorm head, Fonda Fontaine.

"Girls, just what in the world is going on down there?" Ms. Fontaine wanted to know what the source of the noise was.

All of the girls looked to each other in panic, unsure of what to do. Eventually, Alexis came up with a solution. "Down, hurry!" Alexis whispered to her friends. The two girls proceeded to sit on Syrus, blocking him from view of the teacher.

"Alright, what's up?" Ms. Fontaine wanted to know.

"Man, you guys are heavy," Syrus complained.

"Beg your pardon?" Jasmine was offended.

"Maybe you're just brittle," Mindy was similarly offended.

"We're sorry, Ms. Fontaine. We'll be sure to keep a lid on things," Alexis apologized.

"Well, I should hope so. It's nearly midnight and I have pilades in the morning," Ms. Fontaine responded. Right as she turned around to head back to her room, Jasmine and Mindy were quick to get off of Syrus.

"So, what should we do now, Alexis?" Jasmine asked.

"I'll tell you what we should do girls," Alexis said as she crossed her arms. "I think we use Sy here as a kind of bait to find out what we were wondering about before. To find out how good of a duelist Jaden really is."

"Um, you do know that we can just ask him to duel, right? According to Rainbow Dash and Applejack, Jaden is the type to accept duels from anyone," Fluttershy interrupted.

"Fair enough, but I want to see him at his best, and I know just how we can get him to do so," Alexis responded.

* * *

Jaden was in the middle of playing a handheld video game while Rainbow Dash was in the middle of sleeping. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Jaden, curious as to who was at the door, got up and opened the door only to be met with Pinkie Pie.

"Surprise!" Pinkie yelled out as a bunch of confetti shot out of her party cannon, which was loud enough to wake up Rainbow Dash. "I remember how poorly Syrus felt about not answering that question earlier and I wanted to throw a party to help him feel better. So, where is the boy in question, anyway?" Pinkie Pie looked around the room for Syrus.

"Oh, he left quite some time ago. Something about seeing his beloved," Rainbow Dash explained to her hyperactive friend.

"Aw. But I had a cake ready for him and everything," Pinkie Pie was disappointed.

Before the conversation could continue, Jaden's PDA started to ring. Jaden moved to answer it, only for the message to not show a face and be garbled so not to reveal who was talking, "We have your roommate, Syrus. If you want him back, come to the girl's dorm now! Alone!"

"Well, I guess I should go and see what trouble Syrus got into," Jaden said as he left. Before he could leave, though, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie blocked the way out.

"Hold on. You're just going to go and not bring us? What if this is a trap?" Rainbow Dash was being cautious.

"Yeah. For all we know, they could plan to do something really mean to you and Syrus when you get there. So, take us with you so that we can help you," Pinkie Pie offered.

"Sorry, girls. But I have to go alone," Jaden turned them down as he ran out the dorm room door.

"Should we follow him?" Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash.

"Of course we should. The two of them may need help," Rainbow Dash responded with resolve.

* * *

Jaden rowed across the lake in order to reach the girl's dorm, with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie following in a boat behind them. When he made it to the girl's dorm, Jaden saw Syrus being held by Alexis and her friends.

"Hey Jaden," Syrus sadly greeted his friend.

"Hey Syrus. Mind telling me what's going on here?" Jaden asked, curious to see what had gotten him into trouble.

"Well, to make a long story short, I'm basically a big loser," Syrus said in disappointment.

"Your little friend here trespassed onto the girl's dorm," Jasmine explained.

"Is that true, Syrus?" Jaden asked for clarification.

"Hey, it's not like that," Syrus protested.

"And, now that you're here, Jaden you're trespassing too," Mindy explained.

"That's right. And if you don't want us to turn you in, you'll have to win your freedom by dueling me right now!" Alexis gave her ultimatum.

"But, if you turn us in, we'll be expelled," Syrus complained.

"Don't worry Syrus. I'll make sure that doesn't happen," Jaden reassured his friend.

* * *

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Jaden?" Syrus questioned his overconfident friend.

Both groups were in rowboats in the middle of the lake. Jaden and Syrus were in one boat while Alexis and her friends were in the other. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, were in a rowboat a few feet behind Jaden and Syrus. Crowler also found out about the duel and was watching it from not that far away, hoping that Alexis would defeat Jaden.

"Hey, I thought you said Jaden had to come alone!" Jasmine complained, seeing the third boat in the distance.

"Hey, I did keep my end of the deal. They must have come of their own volition," Jaden protested.

"They can stay, provided they don't turn anyone in or interfere with the duel," Alexis decided.

"Duel!" Both Jaden and Alexis yelled at once.

"Get your game on, Alexis," Jaden opened up the duel with.

"So, Pinkie, who do you think will win?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I dunno. I haven't seen Alexis duel before and I barely know Jaden's deck. Oh, do you think Alexis and her friends will be willing to party?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Um, I think we should currently be concerned with how Jaden will do in this duel," Rainbow was wary.

"Alright." Alexis responded as she drew her first card. She looked at her options before deciding which card to play. "Etoile Cyber, rise!" A dancer wearing light blue and red was summoned onto Alexis's field (1200/1600). "I'll also play one card facedown."

"Time to throw down," Jaden said as he drew a card. He drew Elemental Hero Sparkman. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman!(1600/1400) And I'll have him attack your Etoile Cyber with Static Shockwave!" Sparkman's electricity shot out at Etoile Cyber.

"Hold on there, Jaden! I play the trap card Doble Passe." Alexis played her trap card. Suddenly, Sparkman's attack went around Etoile Cyber and shocked Alexis instead. "My trap card turns your attack into a direct attack on me. And then, my Etoile Cyber gets to wage a direct attack on you. Oh, and when Etoile Cyber makes a direct attack, her attack points increase by 600 for that attack." Etoile Cyber's attack points rose to 1800 for the direct attack, hitting Jaden and inflicting a lot of damage.

**Alexis Rhodes**

**2400**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2200**

"She was willing to take damage to her own Life Points in order to deal damage to mine," Jaden was amazed.

"Are you impressed, Jaden?" Alexis asked.

"Impressed? I think I'm in love," Jaden responded.

"Aw, you're sweet. Too bad I have to crush you," Alexis said mockingly. "Now, for my move, I play Blade Skater!" The graceful skater appeared onto the field, skating across the water as she was summoned (1400/1500). "And, I play the spell card Polymerization in order to fuse Etoile Cyber and Blade Skater together to form Cyber Blader!" Cyber Blader, a blue haired female skater wearing blue and red, was summoned to Alexis's field (2100/800). "Now, Cyber Blader, attack with Whirlwind Rage!" The skater spun around on the water into Sparkman, destroying him and lowering Jaden's Life Points from 2200 to 1700.

**Alexis Rhodes **

**2400**

**Jaden Yuki**

**1700**

"Well, so much for him," Jaden muttered to himself.

"Way to go, Alexis!" Jasmine cheered on her friend.

"That's right. I knew that when he defeated Dr. Crowler it was just luck," Mindy added on.

"Well, it'll be my pleasure to prove you wrong. My turn!" Jaden drew his card, which turned out to be Fusion Gate. Jaden then thought, "All right -perfect!" Jaden then said aloud "I play the field spell Fusion Gate! With it, I can fuse monsters together without a Polymerization, which is exactly what I am going to do! I'm going to summon Elemental Hero Flame Wingman!" The wingman rose onto the lake, ready to battle (2100/1200).

"So, Jaden, it looks like it's one fusion monster against another one Jaden, which is fine by me," Alexis was left undeterred. "Although, since they both have the same attack points, they're just going to destroy each other."

"Maybe, but not after I play the spell card Kishido Spirit. Here's how it works. When a monster of mine battles a monster with the same attack points, my monster won't be destroyed. In addition, thanks to my Wingman's superpower, when he destroys a monster, you take damage equal to the destroyed monster's attack points. Now, go! Skydive Scorcher!" Jaden explained, hoping to destroy Cyber Blader and inflict major damage.

"Yeah! Jaden's got this duel in the bag!" Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Or no," Pinkie Pie strangely answered.

"Huh? What do you mean Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash was confused.

"Oh, you don't know. Sorry. You see, Cyber Blader has different effects based upon the amount of monsters on the opponent's field. Alexis told me about them yesterday," Pinkie Pie explained.

"So, what is the effect for one monster?" Rainbow Dash was curious, but she had a feeling that she didn't want to know.

Flame Wingman's attack, in spite of Jaden's best efforts, didn't do a thing to Cyber Blader. "Huh? Hey, what gives?! Why didn't my attack do anything?" Jaden was confused.

"You see, Cyber Blader's special ability prevents her from being destroyed by an opponent with only one monster," Alexis explained.

"But, that would mean-," Jaden started to realize.

"Neither of us lose any Life Points," Alexis answered.

"Okay, Alexis. You got me," Jaden admitted.

"Oh don't worry Jaden, you'll know it," Alexis said as she drew her card. "And I'll get you right now. I play the equip spell card Fusion Weapon. This card will give my Cyber Blader an extra 1500 attack and defense points." Suddenly, Cyber Blader's right arm started to metamorphosize into a part cybernetic and part organic trident (3600/2300).

"Uh oh. Sy old buddy, you may want to brace yourself for this," Jaden warned.

"Go, Blader! Attack the Flame Wingman with Trident Shock!" Cyber Blader shot out a bolt of electricity at Flame Wingman, destroying him and lowering Jaden's Life Points to 200.

**Alexis Rhodes**

**2400**

**Jaden Yuki**

**200**

"Uh oh, Jaden. Your Life Points are looking pretty low. Hope you didn't unpack your bags just yet," Alexis mocked.

"Yeah, because if you lose, you'll get expelled," Mindy reminded the duo.

"Oh no. We are?" Syrus started to show worry.

"Don't worry, Syrus. That's not going to happen," Jaden comforted his anxious friend.

Alexis then thought to herself,"_You better not make promises you can't deliver, Jaden."_ "

"_I hope I'm not making a promise that I can't deliver,"_ Jaden thought to himself. "_The only card I have out is Fusion Gate. But, there is still a chance that I can win this duel. It all depends on what I draw next."_ Jaden then said aloud, "Here goes." To Jaden's relief, the card he drew was Monster Reborn. "Perfect. I summon the Elemental Hero Clayman in attack mode (800/2000). Next, I play the spell card, Monster Reborn! Which I will use to summon Elemental Hero Sparkman from my graveyard." Sparkman revived himself from the graveyard in attack mode (1600/1400).

"But what difference does it make? My Cyber Blader has way more attack points than your Sparkman," Alexis was confused at what Jaden was trying to pull.

"Maybe not on their own, but that is why I'm going to use Fusion Gate to fuse Sparkman and Clayman together to form Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Jaden revealed his plan. A gigantic soldier formed onto Jaden's side of the field in attack mode (2400/1500). The colossal monster shook the water for everyone upon being summoned.

"Hate to break it to you, Jaden. But my Cyber Blader still has more attack points at 3600," Alexis reminded Jaden.

"Well, you see one of Thunder Giant's special abilities is that when summoned, he can destroy a monster whose original attack points are less than his own," Jaden explained.

"Wait, but before I played Fusion Weapon, my Cyber Blader's attack points were only 2100. Which means-," Alexis started to realize what was going to happen.

"That my Thunder Giant will destroy your Cyber Blader," Jaden answered. Thunder Giant approached Cyber Blader, shocking and destroying Cyber Blader effortlessly. "Now, Thunder Giant, attack her directly!" Thunder Giant shot out a bolt of electricity that zapped Alexis and also hit and hurt Crowler. Alexis's Life Points were reduced to 0, much to the shock of Alexis's friends and to the relief of Syrus. "Looks like that is game! Remember, I won so keep your end of the deal," Jaden reminded Alexis.

"Don't worry I won't back out, you beat me fair and square," Alexis was backing down.

"Well, if you ask me, I think we should turn the both of them in," Jasmine was not ready to let the duo go free.

"Well, it isn't up to you," Alexis reminded her friend. "I have to admit Jaden, you did pretty good."

"Not just that, it was pretty close. You're a pretty good duelist," Jaden complimented the Obelisk Blue girl. "Well, later." Jaden started to row himself and Syrus back to shore, with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie following not that far behind.

"_Even if he did lose I don't think I would have turned them in. This place is a lot more interesting with them than without,_" Alexis thought to herself.

"Just you wait, Jaden Yuki. I will find a way to expel you sooner or later. Just as soon as I make it back home to Clarissa," Dr. Crowler grumbled to himself as he sank back into the water to return to the Obelisk Blue male dorm.


	7. Raring To Go!

In the Slifer Red dorm, Syrus was trying to pray to Slifer so that he could pass his exams today, wearing a white headband holding three copies of Monster Reborn. "Please, please, please. Please help me pass my exams today. Otherwise, I'll be stuck in Slifer Red forever. Not that there is a problem with red, it looks good on you Slifer. I just want to get into Ra Yellow, so please give me a sign that you'll help." At this, an alarm clock that was placed directly next to Jaden went off. "Slifer?!" Syrus yelled in shock. "Oh. It's only the alarm clock. And, of course, Jaden sleeps right through it." Syrus walked up to Jaden and shook him, trying to wake him up. "How can he be so relaxed when there is so much at stake? Come on Jaden. Wake up. You'll be in trouble if you miss the exams."

Suddenly, Jaden shot his arms out, knocking over Syrus. "Wrong, because I play a trap!" Jaden said in his sleep.

"Why can't he ever be in defense position when I wake him up?" Syrus complained as he got up.

"Is it morning already?" Rainbow Dash said as she woke up, still a bit drowsy. "So, what's happening, Syrus?"

"Oh, I'm trying to get ready for exams, which I need to pass in order to pass onto the higher dorms," Syrus explained to Rainbow.

"Oh, those exams. Wake me up when it gets to the dueling portion of them," Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Are you serious?! We need to take them seriously. First is the written exam and then we have our dueling exam. If we cannot pass, our chances of getting to better dorms go down," Syrus was worried.

"Oh, I am taking the dueling portion of the exam seriously. I plan to duel Jaden or Twilight in order to prove my skills as a duelist, not that I need to," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Look, I don't have time to argue with you Rainbow Dash. I need to get to the exams on time. Please, wake up Jaden before you leave!" Syrus called out as he ran out of the dorm.

* * *

Jaden and Rainbow Dash were sprinting down the road to the main campus, hoping to try and get to class on time for the written exam, even if they personally didn't care for them. As they ran, they passed an old lady trying to push her van up the road, only to be struggling as she did so. The two of them noticed this display and decided, rather than get to class on time, to help this lady with her van. After all, they were never really on time for class anyway.

The two started to help the lady push her van up the road. "Here. Let us give you a hand," Jaden offered as he started to push the van up the road, with Rainbow Dash helping as well.

"Oh, why thank you. You must be from the auto club," the lady said, relieved to be getting help.

"Don't let our red blazers fool ya. We are just two students willing to help and do the right thing," Rainbow Dash explained.

"You two are so sweet. I'll be sure to remember this," the lady said.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the house where Dylan and Dolly were staying…

Dolly was sliding down the railing on the stairs, landing on the ground floor on one paw. "Aw, yeah! We get to go on a field trip today! Hey, Dylan? You gonna go and have fun or are ya gonna act like a total nerd again?" Dolly mocked Dylan as he was wearing a duel disk on his front right paw, though not without some difficulty.

"Nerd? Please, Dolly. I am merely getting myself ready for our field trip. I get to choose this time and I've decided to have us watch the dueling exams for the freshman class in a few hours," Dylan countered.

"Wait. We have to watch that boring game of yours as a field trip?! Seriously?!" Dolly fell back onto the floor overdramatically. "Dude, can we go out and do something that is actually, I don't know, fun?! This is going to be a terrible day."

"Hey, come on. Duel Monsters is a fun game. Once you get used to it it is actually pretty fun, like Poodlewolf."

"Yeah because comparing Duel Monsters to Poodlewolf is totally going to get me to like the game," Dolly sarcastically snarked.

"Well, goodbye pups," their mom said farewell to the pups.

"See you after work," their father gave his farewell after he broke out of the puppy pile that was hugging him.

"Wait! Mom, dad, please let Dylan have our field trip be somewhere else. No one here will show any interest in the Duel Monsters junk. Please tell him no," Dolly pleaded with her parents.

"Well, Dolly, I don't quite see any problems with the Duel Monsters field trip. So long as none of you interfere with the students, you are allowed inside of the main campus building. Just give the game a shot," the mom gently rejected Dolly.

"Yeah, like your mother said. Well, goodbye pups. I love you!" the father said as both parents left their home.

"Aw, nuts," Dolly grumbled to herself.

"Well, looks like you're stuck with us then," Dylan said.

"Look, you want to take our 97 siblings on a field trip to see Duel Monsters? Fine. Just don't expect me to come with you," Dolly said as she left the house, using the paw scanner to open the door. "I'll just have my own fun." Dolly ran out the door, with it closing behind her.

"Well, I guess it is just the rest of us then, pups," Dylan remarked.

"Where are we going?" one puppy asked.

"Yeah. Tell us where we are going," another puppy asked.

"Please let it be somewhere close to the sea," Destiny, a female pup wearing a pink heart collar, said.

"Even better. We're going to see some Duel Monster duels," Dylan answered.

Immediately, everyone else proceeded to groan in disappointment.

"Dylan, no offense, but I don't think that most of our siblings want to see duels," Dawkins said.

"Come on. The game isn't that bad. You'll see Dawkins, by the end of the day there are going to be more puppies interested in this game," Dylan claimed.

* * *

"Class, you have 45 minutes left to finish your test," Professor Banner said as the students filled out their tests answer by answer. While everyone was taking their tests, Pharaoh the cat, Spencer the dachshund, and Portia the black poodle walked down the aisles, checking to make sure that no one was cheating. While there were no cheaters, Syrus was sleeping during his exam as he hadn't gotten much sleep the previous night.

As Syrus was sleeping, he was saying answers in his sleep. Soon, he was interrupted by Jaden. "I didn't know this was an oral exam."

"Huh? Jaden?" Syrus mumbled as he woke up. "Rainbow Dash? You're both here."

"Yeah. We got here a bit late, but we're still here. Don't count either of us out yet," Rainbow Dash said over confidently.

"Do you three mind?!" a voice, which belonged to Chazz, yelled to the group. "Some of us actually plan on passing this test."

"Hey, I always plan on passing. It just doesn't always work out that way," Jaden responded.

"I personally don't care much for the written exam," Rainbow Dash bluntly stated.

"Well, you should. Our grades here will affect our dorm ranking at this school," Twilight warned her friend, who was sitting right next to Syrus.

"Oh Jaden, Rainbow Dash? Please come down here and get your exam papers," Professor Banner gently called for the two late students.

"Oh, coming," Jaden called back as he laughed nervously at being called out specifically.

"Me too!" Rainbow Dash called down as well.

"_They better be ready. We're fifteen minutes into this. They'll be lucky to even finish," _Alexis thought to herself.

"_Look at them. Tardy, puerile. It's a shame. They could both be great duelists,"_ Bastion thought. As Rainbow and Jaden grabbed their test papers.

"_I hope you know what you're doing, you two,"_ Alexis wished them luck.

Jaden and Rainbow Dash both tried to write down answers for their test. However, their tendency to sleep during class caused the two of them, and Syrus, to fall asleep in the middle of class.

Unbeknownst to most of the students, Dr. Crowler and Clarissa the corgi were watching the students take the exam from the partially open door. "Go ahead Jaden. You and your friends go ahead and nap." Crowler deviously said, much to the confusion of Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, who were able to hear what the doctor was saying. " But, even though you can sleep through your written exam, you won't stand a chance once your field test begins. It'll be a nightmare!" Crowler and Clarissa laughed wickedly at the upcoming embarrassment that Jaden was going to go through because of them.

* * *

Dolly was running fast across the campus, planning to have a fun day with her friends rather than watching a boring card game. She loved her family, but she didn't want to watch a game she lacked interest in with them, especially not Dylan. She went into the main building, looking for Roxy the rottweiler. However, when she got to the card shop where Roxy currently was, she was behind the steel door and couldn't interact with her. She then went to go look for Snowball the white pomeranian, only to find that she was spending time with her owner, Chancellor Sheppard. Left without much to do, she debated just grabbing her skateboard and skating around outside. However, on her way out, she ran into a familiar face.

"Oh. Hello there, Dolly," a husky named Hansel introduced himself to her.

"Oh, hello Hansel," Dolly said in a dreamy voice, thoroughly enamoured with the husky. "_Looks like I found out what I'm doing with my day." _Dolly then said aloud, "Hey Hansel, what are you doing today? Because whatever it is, I am totally on board with joining you."

"Well, I was planning on watching the duels that are part of the field test. You know, Duel Monsters is a really fun game to play and I don't have many people to talk to about it," Hansel explained.

Dolly's eyes went wide. On one hand she would be able to spend time with her crush, just the two of them. On the other hand, she would have to feign interest in a game she doesn't care for in order to spend time with him. And, to say that it would be worth abandoning her family to spend time with Hansel would be another thing altogether. "I-I-I-I-I'm into Duel Monsters too, Hansel," Dolly lied nervously. "I've just gotten into the game a few weeks ago. Maybe I can learn more about the game from you."

"That sounds good Dolly. Duel Monsters really is a great game to get into, and I would be willing to help you learn," Hansel accepted the offer to help Dolly.

"Great! Now, let's go see how the duels will go," the lovestruck dog muttered to Hansel.

* * *

Eventually, the written exam had ended. "Okay class. The written part of the exam is now over. Please walk, do not run, in order to pick up some of the newest rare cards," Professor Banner calmly excused his students.

"Did he say rare cards?!" one student yelled out.

"Oh dear," Banner shook his head as most of the students rushed out of the exam room.

"Chazz didn't you hear?" the blue haired kid said.

"There are a buncha rare cards in the store-," the brown haired kid tried to inform Chazz.

"So, go fetch," Chazz simply answered. As the two ran off to get some rare cards, Bastion and Twilight were trying to wake up Rainbow, Jaden, and Syrus.

"Um, I think that the three of you would like to wake up," Twilight said as she gently shook Syrus.

Suddenly, Syrus woke up. "Wait, what just happened? Oh, let me guess. I failed didn't I? I knew it. I'm a complete failure," Syrus wailed as tears rolled down his face.

"Well, Sy, if they had a grade for melodrama, you'd get an A. Question is, where is everyone?: Jaden wondered.

"Everyone went to the card shack in order to get some new cards. A bunch of rare cards are available and everyone wants to add them to their decks before the field test," Bastion explained.

"And no one expalined any of this to us because?" Rainbow Dash bitterly questioned.

"Because they want them for themselves, I'm afraid. Sad thing is, most students are not willing to share the new cards with other people," Twilight answered. "Lucky for you guys, Bastion and I are happy with our decks and are willing to share this knowledge with you guys."

"Well, you guys, we better get going if we want to get some rare cards," Jaden decided. "Thanks for the help, you two!" Jaden called as he and his friends ran off.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the card shop, many students were banging on the metal screen door blocking entrance to the shop. Eventually, a bunch of armored guards arrived. "Cards. Cards. Cards. Cards." the students chanted.

"Hey children. Looking for these?" A man wearing black pants, a white shirt, and with a white and black hat, who was holding a briefcase, said as the guards formed two straight lines between him. He walked towards the steel door as the excited students looked on. As he lifted the door and entered the store, the man said, "Come and get it." The man lowered the metal door behind him. Everyone's excitement was short lived, however, as the briefcase turned out to be empty.

"What happened to all the cards?" An Obelisk Blue student asked.

"You know the rules. First come, first served," the counter girl explained.

"And I was first, so I took every one," A man wearing a black cloak revealed. Behind him was Clarissa, who laughed at the misfortune of the students. As they left, all of the students complained at the fact that they couldn't get new cards for their decks.

* * *

"Come on, you guys. Let's make tracks!" Jaden yelled out to his two friends that were following him. "Better...get in line…" Jaden suddenly got confused at the sight of the store being empty.

"You don't think that they could have…" Syrus muttered.

"Ran out already?!" The duo of Syrus and Jaden yelled out, as Rainbow Dash remained behind them..

"Uh, excuse me, counter girl? You still have some cards, right?" Jaden asked, much to the counter girl's initial frustration.

"Yeah, sure we do, but only regular packs, though," the counter girl calmly responded as she got out one green pack. "Here ya go."

"We said some, not one," Jaden and Syrus said at once.

"I'm done for. I failed my written test, and now I'm gonna fail my duel test because I can't upgrade my deck!" Syrus yelled in misery.

"Well, then Syrus, you take the last card pack," Jaden offered.

"Really? You'd give me the last card pack? Rainbow Dash, Jaden, are you sure?" Syrus was concerned.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm happy with my deck as is. I just wanted to see what cards were here. So go ahead and take them. There's a good chance they can be of help," Rainbow Dash answered.

"Yeah, Sy. As for me, just go ahead and take them," Jaden generously complied.

"But what if...you fail?" Syrus asked his friend sadly.

"Come on Syrus. I may stumble now and then, but I never fail," Jaden confidently responded.

"Yoohoo, auto club!" the old lady from earlier arrived at the shop.

"Wow, I didn't know you worked here," Jaden was amazed.

"Yeah, owning a store for cards is kinda awesome," Rainbow Dash was impressed.

"Oh, I don't work here. I own here. Cool, huh?" the old lady answered.

"How do you two know her anyway?" Syrus was confused.

"I think it was the carburetor," Jaden vaguely answered.

"Well, to make a long story short, we helped her move her car down the road and helped to fix it," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Here, I have something for you," the old lady said as she was giggling. "Just call it a thank you for your help."

* * *

"And then this strange guy shows up and takes all the new rare cards. I mean every one!" the blue haired friend of Chazz said.

"Yeah, so we couldn't get you any Chazz. Sorry," the brown haired friend apologized.

"You wanna know what's sorry? You two, that's what. But it doesn't matter, anyway. No one here can beat me no matter what card he plays," Chazz boasted.

"Unless that duelist happens to be Jaden Yuki," a voice said. Chazz and his friends turned their heads to find the source of the voice.

"Who was that?" Chazz demanded.

"Someone who suspects you hate Jaden Yuki as much as I do," the voice responded. It turned out it was from the man in black from earlier, with Clarissa following after him.

"Hey, that's the sticky fingers who took all the rare cards!" the blue haired kid revealed.

"Cards? What cards? Oh, do you mean these cards?" the man asked as he opened up his cloak, showing the rare cards to the students.

"Wow, talk about dueling in style," the brown haired kid was impressed.

"Talk about having a card up your sleeve," the blue haired kid said, amazed at the rare cards.

The man and Clarissa started to laugh sinisterly, much to the confusion of the Obelisk Blue students."Come on Chazz, what's the matter? Don't recognize me? Well, how about now?" At this, the man removed his hat, revealing himself to be Dr. Crowler to the students, much to their confusion.

"You know, you looked better all covered up," Chazz snarked, which caused Crowler to fall to the ground.

"Well, I have a plan that will have us all look better," Crowler began. "And make Jaden Yuki look like the cut-rate duelist he truly is. I want for you to duel him and beat him using these rare cards."

"But I'm not in the same dorm as him. They won't let me be his opponent," Chazz protested.

"You just leave that to me. You just make sure you use these rare cards to defeat Jaden and embarrass him in front of the entire academy," Crowler said as he laughed wickedly, Clarissa laughing along with him.

* * *

"Here we are everyone. The dueling arena!" Dylan introduced the arena to his many siblings. "So, what do you think?"'

"Can we go somewhere else?" Dizzy asked.

"Yeah. I wanna go outside," Diesel, a dalamtian covered with muddy spots, said.

"Outside? Come on. These duels can be legitimately interesting. Just give them a chance," Dylan pleaded with his family.

"Yeah. I think not," Dallas, a dalmatian wearing a pink diamond collar, muttered under her breath.

Meanwhile, at another part of the arena…

"So, what do you think of the testing arena?" Hansel asked Dolly.

"Um, it-it's great," Dolly awkwardly answered.

"Good to hear. I don't know many dogs that are in to this game like I am Dolly. I am grateful to hear you have that passion as well."

"Oh. Okay," Dolly said with a hint of guilt.

The conversation didn't go on for much longer, as another familiar face entered this section of the arena. "Out of the way, coming through. Ugh, I can't believe that so many peasants like those Slifer Reds go to this school." It was Clarissa Corgi, and Dolly was enraged upon seeing the pampered powder puff be here. After all, rarely were you fortunate to not have to deal with her outside of the house.

"Oh, hey Clarissa," Dolly said, trying to hide her anger so not to ward off Hansel. "How are you doing?"

"Oh nothing much. I'm just here to see someone from Obelisk Blue triumph over another student," Clarissa explained. "And to see him crush his opponent and embarrass him in front of the school!" She whispered to Dolly before leaving while laughing, much to Dolly fury as she growled.

* * *

"Huh?! I'm dueling an Obelisk and it's Chazz?!" Jaden called out, confused at this setup.

"Yes, Jaden. I know you talk a big game, so I pulled a few strings to make sure that you got the challenge you deserved. I certainly hope that you got enough of the new rare cards to make sure your deck is up to snuff. What's wrong? Aren't you going to thank me?" Crowler explained.

"_I have a bad feeling about this,"_ Syrus thought.

"_This is obviously a trap. Only a cavalier fool would fall for it,"_ Bastion thought.

Much to everyone's shock, except for Crowler and Chazz, Jaden accepted the duel, "Get your game on Chazz! Now we can finish what we started in Obelisk arena!"

"Yes, and you get to duel in front of the entire school," Crowler said.

"And watch you get slammed by me," Chazz boasted.

"So, which duelist are you hoping wins?" Hansel asked Dolly, in regards to Chazz and Jaden's duel.

"I hope the one in red wins," Dolly quickly responded.

Both duelists placed their decks into their Duel Disks and prepared for their duel as Crowler left the duel arena. "Duel!" both Chazz and Jaden yelled.

"No excuses this time, Chazz!" Jaden said.

"Bring it, Slifer Slacker!" Chazz responded.

"I'll start up this duel. I draw," Jaden began as he drew Winged Kuriboh. "Well, if it isn't my favorite furry friend. _You're in for a real treat, Winged Kuriboh. You'll get to see me rain down some serious skills on Chazz. _You remember this guy from our last duel, right Chazz? Rise, Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode!" A hero coated in brown stone clay was summoned onto Jaden's side of the field (800/2000). "He'd like to get reacquainted."

Chazz lightly laughed to himself, "Not after he sees what I have in store for him. Don't think for a second that that overgrown pile of pebbles will protect you against me, Jaden."

As this was going on, Rainbow Dash and her five friends met up with each other and decided to watch the current duel with Syrus and Bastion. "Well, maybe now I can see more of how Jaden duels. I haven't gotten to see much of him duel and if he is as good as everyone says I may want to," Twilight said.

"Well, don't worry. He is as good as others say he is," Rainbow Dash said on Jaden's behalf.

"My turn!" Chazz drew a card and was happy with what he received. "_Thanks for the rare card, Crowler._ Fresh off the presses, it's the Magical Mallet spell card."

"Alright, so what's it do?" Jaden asked the Obelisk Blue student.

"A redo. Now I can take cards from my hand that I don't want and reshuffle them into my deck." Chazz explained.

"A rare card on the first draw?!" Syrus was shocked.

"And a very dangerous one at that. Now Chazz can choose which cards he wants and which ones he doesn't," Bastion explained with concern.

"I haven't even gotten to the best part! See, I also got to reshuffle Magical Mallet and since I did I'll activate it again to reshuffle and redraw. If I keep redrawing it, I can play it again and again. This really does come in handy when I'm looking for this! Go V-Tiger Jet! Rise, in attack mode!" Chazz cried out as he summoned the mechanical tiger (1600/1800). "But don't think I'm done yet! I activate the spell card Frontline Base! This allows me to summon another monster that is level four or below this turn and I choose W-Wing Catapult!" A blue jet summoned itself to Chazz's field (1300/1500). "Now you two, start your engines. Merge to form WV-Tiger Catapult!" The two machines rose into the air, combining into one large creature (2000/2100). "But I'm not done. I still have his special ability."

"That's not good!" Jaden looked on nervously.

"Are you serious?! Is this guy's turn going to end sometime this century?" Syrus asked in annoyance.

"You see, by discarding one card from my hand, I can switch the battle mode of one of your monsters, which I will do to switch your Clayman to attack mode! Now Tiger Catapult, attack!" The Tiger Catapult launched several missiles out at Clayman, causing a fair amount of damage to Jaden's Life Points.

**Chazz Princeton**

**4000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2800**

"My, my, look at this. Looks like Jaden can't play with the big boys after all. I guess he isn't as good as everyone thinks," Crowler stated to Sheppard, who was standing right next to him.

"And I'll finish up with a facedown. It's your turn Jaden," Chazz smugly said.

"_Wow, for something I thought was lame, that was actually kinda cool. I better not tell Dylan though. He'd never let me live it down," _Dolly thought to herself.

"Yeah, you go and finish up. I'm just getting warmed up," Jaden confidently quipped. Jaden drew his card for this turn. "Here's a hero who can really turn up the heat. Elemental Hero Sparkman in defense mode!" Sprakman crouched down on his knee to defend Jaden's Life Points (1600/1400). "I'll also throw down a facedown."

"Not much he can do with all the rares that Chazz seems to have," Bastion muttered.

"It's just not fair!" Syrus was outraged at Chazz's unfair advantage.

"_This is a complete mismatch. How can Jaden fight back if he doesn't know what he's fighting?" _Alexis thought to herself.

"My turn now. And, I think I'll summon X-Head Cannon. And, thanks to Frontline's magic, Z-Metal Tank as well," Chazz summoned the two machines, a machine with cannons on his back (1800/1500) and a tank (1500/1300).

"Oh man. X and Z? If I am right, Jaden's chances of winning are about to be much smaller," Twilight said urgently.

"What do you mean his chances will be smaller?" Applejack demanded.

"With those two cards and the card Y-Dragon Head, Chazz can summon XYZ-Dragon Cannon, a very powerful card," Pinkie Pie explained. "I'm not sure if any amount of parties will cheer up Jaden after this.

"Well, knowing Jaden, he'll still find a way. Go, Jaden!" Rainbow Dash encouraged her friend.

"I play the trap card Call of the Haunted in order to summon Y-Dragon Head!" Chazz revived his dragon-like machine (1500/1600).

"It's him!" Rarity was surprised.

"He has it!" Bastion was amazed.

"I discarded him with my Tiger Catapult's special ability. Now, I combine him with X-Head Cannon and Z-Metal Tank in order to create XYZ-Dragon Cannon (2800/2600)!"

"This doesn't look very good," Fluttershy was worried.

"That's an understatement, Fluttershy was it? Chazz now has a total of two monsters with more than 2000 attack points each," Bastion said with worry.

"But wait. There's more. See, people say that two is better than one, but I have to disagree. I merge both of my monsters together to form the VWXYZ-Dragon Catapult Cannon!" The two monsters merged together in order to create one ginormous monster (3000/2800). "My monster sure makes your Sparkman look like a heap of spark plugs, or at least he did." As Chazz said this, Sparkman suddenly vanished. "Oops. Did I mention my monster's special ability? See, my monster can banish one of your cards once per turn. And, if you think that was impressive, just wait until you see his attack. My Catapult Cannon can now attack your Life Points directly."

"Don't think so Chazz. I play the trap card a Hero Emerges!" Jaden activated his set card.

"Blast!" Crowler yelled out.

"A Hero what?" Chazz asked with annoyance.

"Emerges. From my hand. See, you can now pick a card in my hand and if it's a monster, I get to summon it. So take your pick, Chazz," Jaden explained defiantly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. The far right card," Chazz picked in frustration.

Jaden went over to the far right card. "Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Burstinatrix! I'll play her in defense mode (1200/800)!"

"That's what you think, you Slifer Slacker! Thanks to my Catapult Cannon, I get to pick your monster's mode. And you know what? I'll choose attack mode. Now your Life Points, like your monster, will get zapped!"

**Chazz Princeton**

**4000**

**Jaden Yuki **

**1000**

"Aw, what's the matter Jaden? Having some test anxiety? Well, don't worry. It will be over soon," Chazz mocked Jaden.

"That's what you think Chazz. This duel is far from over. I still have a whole army creatures ready to get at you. It's my turn. I draw," Jaden announced as he drew a new card, Transcendent Wings. It was a card that the old lady had hidden away for him to use! "What do you think, Winged Kuriboh?" Winged Kuriboh responded with a happy coo. "Well, alright. If you say so. I summon Winged Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode." Suddenly, almost every female student screamed out in delight in response to seeing the adorable creature. "I'll also throw down a facedown. That's it."

"That's it? But all he's been playing this duel is defense," Syrus was disappointed.

"Yeah, I don't see how Jaden can win this duel at this rate," Twilight said in disappointment.

"_I really hope you know what you're doing Jaden,"_ Alexis thought in concern.

"I'm going to attack your Winged Kuriboh and I like mine well done. Dragon Catapult Cannon, attack that Kuriboh!" Chazz said as his monster launched out an attack.

"Once that Kuriboh's gone, he'll be totally defenseless!" Syrus yelled out.

"I'm afraid this duel is just about over," Rarity moaned in disappointment.

"Okay, secret weapon time! I sacrifice two cards from my hand in order to play Transcendent Wings!" Jaden announced as he discarded his remaining two cards.

"Where did her get that from?!" Crowler and Clarissa yelled out in shock.

Suddenly, Winged Kuriboh's wings increased dramatically in size. They went from tiny to ginormous. "It can't be!" Chazz cried out in horror.

"Oh, it be. You see, Transcendent Wings turns my Winged Kuriboh into a Level ten monster (300/200). And it gets better. See, by sacrificing him, I can destroy all monsters in attack mode and deal their attack points as damage to you!" Jaden explained, as Winged Kuriboh Level 10 reflected the Catapult Cannon's lazer attack back at him and destroyed him.

**Chazz Princeton**

**1000**

**Jaden Yuki **

**1000**

"Lucky punk," Chazz grumbled as the dust cleared.

"Lucky? Naw, I just have a soft spot for old ladies. But not for you Chazz, and that's too bad as with us both at 1000 Life Points apiece and my turn coming up, all I need to do is draw the right card and this duel will be mine," Jaden said full of confidence. "Here goes something! Alright! Elemental Hero Avian (1000/1000)! Attack Chazz directly!" Avian sliced through Chazz, reducing his Life Points to 0. Everyone in the arena went from shocked to happy, clapping and applauding Jaden for his victory over Chazz.

"Impossible! Jaden can't have won. Not after all the rare cards I gave Chazz!" Crowler was outraged.

"Crowler, what's this about rare cards?" Chancellor Sheppard questioned the doctor.

"Um, nothing. I have some tests to grade," Dr. Crowler awkwardly said as he left the upper room.

Meanwhile, Jaden was soaking in all the applause before telling Chazz, That's game. Unless you wanna duel again!"

Chazz picked himself up off the floor bitterly. "Oh, we will!"

"Jaden, you did it!" Syrus yelled out happily as he approached Jaden, with the Mane 6 and Bastion following after "I know, right?! The way he managed to turn the duel around from losing to winning?! That was so awesome!" Rainbow Dash cried out.

"I know. Jaden, you have my respect," Twilight simply said.

"You sure do. You deserve to go into a higher dorm for sure," Rarity said in respect.

"Jaden Yuki?" Everyone turned to the upper box room where Chancellor Sheppard was as he continued, "Jaden, never in the many years of this academy have I seen a Slifer duel an Obelisk during these exams. Not only did you hold your own, but you won! It is with great pride that I promote you to Ra Yellow."

"No way! Jaden, that's incredible!" Rainbow Dash congratulated her friend.

"Jaden, let me be the first to introduce you to the Ra Yellow dorm," Bastion welcomed the new student.

"_Gee, I knew that Jaden wouldn't remain a Slifer Red for long, but I am still sad to see him go so soon. Hopefully, we can still be friends,"_ Syrus thought to himself.

"So, Dolly, what did you think of that duel?" Hansel asked Dolly.

"What did I think? It was incredible! I can't believe that duels can be so exciting! If only I could do that myself! Maybe I can try to learn to play on my skateboard!" Dolly was happily rambling to herself. She then looked to her right and saw her family sitting down, most of them looking bored, a little bit away from them. "Excuse me for a moment." Dolly moved on down to where her family was. "So, how did this borefest go, anyway?" Dolly lied as she asked Dylan how things went in her absence.

"Well, a few students, mostly just Dawkins, were able to enjoy the game more and want to learn about it. Otherwise, the whole thing was a bust," Dylan sighed in disappointment. "So, how did things go for you?"

"Well, nothing much. Still find the game to be boring as all get out," Dolly continued to lie about her feelings toward the game.

* * *

"So Syrus, are you ready to look for a new roommate yet or should I do it alone?" Rainbow Dash asked the shorter kid.

After a moment of silence, Syrus muttered to himself. "I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Suddenly, the door opened and Jaden entered the room. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"Jaden?! What are you doing here?!" Syrus was completely confused.

"I just wanted to congratulate you both for passing your field tests. Also, in case you'd forgotten, I live here! Sure, Ra Yellow has its perks like a lack of cockroaches and those spiffy blazers, but I prefer it here anyway. Besides, without you guys by my side, that place just didn't feel like home!"

Suddenly, Rainbow Dash and Syrus rushed towards Jaden and hugged him with joy present on both of their faces.


	8. The Shadow Duelist

"And underneath the full moon, I see an answer to a cavern that seems abandoned," Syrus was saying to the group of Jaden, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Applejack's roomate, Blair. You see, everyone from both rooms were telling each other scary stories late at night based on the level monster they drew from a deck.

"Really? And then what, Sy?" Jaden was curious to see where the story went to next.

"Then, I noticed a lake in the back of the cavern. Naturally, I went to look and deep in the lake, just under my reflection, I saw a rare and powerful card. Just as I went to reach for the card, a hand popped out of the water and dragged me in! Help! The water! Anything but the water!" Syrus started to yell in response to his story.

"Aw, water isn't scary," Jaden was unimpressed.

"Dirty swamp water?" After a moment of thinking, Syrus decided his story was unimpressive. "Aw, you're right. Only a total chump would be scared of that." Unbeknownst to Syrus, Blair, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were scared by the story, though they wouldn't admit it.

"Still, you did good Syrus. A mid-level scare for a mid-level card," Jaden reassured his friend.. "Now, as for me, I hope I get a high level." Jaden drew a card, only to draw the level one Sinister Serpent. "Aw man."

"Great. You barely have to scare us with that low level card," Syrus complained in response to seeing his friend draw a weak card.

"Yeah, no offense Jaden, but I don't think you can manage scary with such a weak card,"  
Rainbow Dash butted in.

"Well, I'll see what I can do guys," Jaden said. "Well, my story is more of a memory. You see, real late at night I used to hear sounds coming from my room. I thought I was dreaming, but I heard the noises coming from my closet. When I went there, I saw no one there. Nothing but my cards."

"And?" Syrus was curious to see where the scary part was.

"And that's it." Jaden simply said.

"Sugarcube, I'm sorry to say this but that story was kinda weak," Applejack responded to how unscary the story was.

"You guys wanna hear the strange part? Lately I've started hearing these strange voices again," Jaden finished.

Suddenly, the group heard a scary laugh that proceeded to frighten everyone. "Hey, I want to join in on the fright fest too," the voice, which came from Professor Banner, said.

"You just did!" Jaden exclaimed.

"Yeah. You may want to work on your entrance," Applejack snarked.

"Still, since you're here, why don't you play too? The higher the level of the card you pick, the scarier the story is," Syrus explained.

"Well, that sounds easy enough. Let's see." Banner picked up the top card of the deck, only to get Five Headed Dragon, a level twelve monster.

"On second thought, maybe I'll go to bed," Syrus nervously said.

"Why? Don't you wanna hear about the abandoned dorm?" Banner questioned the group.

"The abandoned dorm?" Jaden questioned.

"Yes, you see, on the edge of the forest, there was a dorm that was shut down because some students disappeared." Professor Banner explained.

"How did they disappear?" Syrus nervously asked.

"Well, that is the mystery behind it. But some say that the students disappeared due to the mysterious Shadow Games."

"What games?" Rainbow Dash asked, having never heard of the Shadow Games before.

"Shadow Games are played with mystical powerful items," Banner answered.

"Wait, I've heard of this. They are called the Millenium Items," Blair realized.

"Yeah, but they aren't actually real, right?" Jaden doubted the existence of the games.

"Well, some don't believe in the Shadow Games. But I feel that the stories must come from somewhere," Banner finished. "Well, I better get back to my room. Take care students."

As Banner left with Pharaoh, the group was about to return to their game when Jaden suddenly interrupted, "Hey, maybe we should take a look inside this abandoned dorm. If only we knew where it was."

"W-well, I saw a strange looking building at the edge of the forest once," Syrus nervously muttered.

"Well then, you'll be the one to lead us to the dorm tomorrow night," Rainbow Dash agreed with Jaden. "What about the rest of you guys? Want to see what the big deal of this abandoned dorm is?"

"I don't know, Rainbow Dash. It doesn't sound right," Applejack said with uncertainty.

"What, you scared?" Rainbow Dash teased.

"No, I'm not. I'll go if that's what it takes to prove it to you," Applejack stubbornly responded.

"Well, thanks for you agreeing, Applejack. What about you Blair? You wanna go with us?" Rainbow Dash questioned the small kid.

"No thanks I'd rather not get into trouble," Blair nervously answered.

"Then, let's get going!" Jaden and Rainbow Dash yelled.

Unbeknownst to the group, Dr. Crowler and Clarissa were listening in on the group's conversation.

"Perfect! This is just the opportunity I've been looking for!" Crowler said. He then thought, "_I think it's about time the Shadow Games make a comeback, Millenium Items and all."_ Crowler proceeded to laugh wickedly with Clarissa.

* * *

The next day, Jaden, Rainbow Dash, and Syrus were all sleeping in the middle of Professor Banner's class. Watching the group sleep was Dr. Crowler, who was watching the trio sleep from outside the classroom. "_Go ahead and sleep through this class. Soon enough, you will get a lesson in the Shadow Realm," _Crowler thought.

* * *

That night, Dr. Crowler and two men named Titan the Undertaker and the Mimic of Doom met up near the lighthouse. "You've made it," Crowler said.

"Of course. We wouldn't miss a job that we were given," the Mimic of Doom responded.

"So, what is our job anyway?" Titan asked the teacher as fog came out of a briefcase he was holding.

"I want you to scare two students so intensely that they leave the island in terror. Think you two are up to the task?" Crowler asked the duo.

"Are you kidding? Scaring people is what I do best," Titan said.

"Don't worry, Dr. Crowler, we'll not only make sure that these students leave, but also end up trapped in the shadows forever!" the Mimic of Doom laughed wickedly as the duo walked away from the lighthouse.

"Man, those two are good," Crowler said.

* * *

Earlier that day, Jaden and Rainbow Dash asked the rest of the Mane 6 if they wanted to go to the abandoned dorm. The four of them disagreed with going aside from Pinkie Pie, not only because of how scary the place sounded, but also because they could end up getting into trouble. However, in the end, the other four members of the Mane 6 agreed to go with them to make sure the others were safe.

However, that night when they all looked for the abandoned dorm, they were all met with difficulty with finding the dorm.

"Well, you could look at it as being lost, but you can also say we found a few places where the dorm isn't at," Jaden tried to defend not finding the dorm.

"Come on. I could have found the dorm quicker than you, Jaden," Rainbow Dash countered.

"Guys, can you keep it down. I don't want to get in trouble or for any of you guys to get in trouble," Twilight warned the arguing duo.

"Yeah. I cannot believe we are going there. The abandoned dorm sounds like just the most dreadful place to go," Rarity complained.

"A-and among the scariest," Fluttershy muttered nervously.

"I-I know, right?" Syrus agreed.

It took some time, but eventually the group of eight had made there way to the abandoned dorm. Upon getting there, they noticed a rose that was left behind on the ground in front of the dorm.

"Who do you think left that rose behind, anyway?" Jaden wondered.

"I don't know, but something tells me we should be more careful," Twilight announced.

"Oh, maybe it's a kid spirit who just wants to spruce up his home!" Pinkie Pie guessed.

Suddenly, a twig from behind the group was stepped on. Syrus and Fluttershy proceeded to freak out. Jaden, however, merely turned around to see what made the noise only to see that it came from Alexis.

"Alexis? What are you doing here?" Syrus nervously asked the girl.

"Strange. I was about to ask you the same thing," Alexis responded.

"We were just curious about the abandoned dorm and decided to take a look," Jaden answered.

"That isn't a very smart move, Jaden. Kids tend to have a habit of disappearing around here, Jaden. Why else do you think that the school would make the place completely forbidden. If you get caught then they'll expel you," Alexis warned.

"If that is the case, why are you here then?" Rainbow Dash asked the Obelisk Blue student.

"It's none of your business why I'm here, got that?" Alexis asked with fire suddenly in her voice.

"Sorry, we just were curious that's all. We will try our best to stay out of your way, if that'll help," Twilight apologized on the behalf of insensitivity of Jaden and Rainbow.

"It's just that...One of the students that disappeared here was my brother," Alexis revealed.

As Jaden looked at the rose in front of the dorm, he suddenly realized who left the rose in front of the dorm and why. Before he could say anything further to Alexis, he noticed that she was gone. "She's gone. Well, we should probably get a move on and heads inside."

"Are you sure? The place looks very spooky," Fluttershy nervously muttered.

"Yeah. We'll just stay out here and wait for you guys to return," Syrus agreed with Fluttershy.

"Well, suit yourself, you two, '' Jaden said as he, and the Mane 5 went inside. However, not wanting to be alone, Syrus followed them into the dorm. Fluttershy was also about to follow, only to be intercepted by the Mimic of Doom, causing Fluttershy to cry out in terror.

Meanwhile, hiding in between the trees, was Alexis ready to leave the dorm. "I hope you know what you're doing, Jaden." Before she left, Titan the Undertaker intercepted her and captured her, leaving her to yell out in fear.

* * *

Once inside, the group were amazed by what they found. They found several carvings related to the Shadow Games on the walls. Jaden, in particular, was impressed.

"Wow. This place doesn't look half bad. With a little decoration, we could totally move into this place, huh guys?" Jaden asked Rainbow and Syrus.

"You're kidding, right?" Syrus was confused. "This is even worse than the Slifer dorm. I mean, what is this stuff on the walls."

"Maybe it has something to do with the Shadow Games," Rarity nervously wondered.

"Jaden, don't stand so close!" Syrus warned his friend.

"You know, I think that this shows the seven Millenium Items. And there is also a photo of someone I've never seen before," Jaden responded as he looked at the wall.

Suddenly, the group heard a scream.

"That sounds like Alexis," Syrus recognized the voice.

"Let's go!" Jaden decided, as he and the others turned around and went back to the main hall on the second floor. "Alexis?" Jaden shined his flashlight around on the bottom floor only to find nothing. The group then proceeded to go down to the bottom floor to look around. Eventually, Jaden ended up finding the monster card Etoile Cyber on the floor. "This is one of Alexis's cards."

"Well, from the looks of it, there is only one way that she could have gone," Rainbow Dash pointed out towards a passageway on the bottom floor.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find Alexis!" Twilight said as she and most of the others followed. Just as Rainbow Dash and Rarity were about to follow as well, they were interrupted by another voice from right behind them.

"Greetings, my friends," The mysterious voice said.

"Huh?" Rainbow Dash was confused. "Who are you?" Rainbow Dash and Rarity turned around to see a familiar face. It was Fluttershy, or at least it looked like her. "Fluttershy! So, you decided to come in after all. Well, we better hurry. Alexis is in trouble and she needs our help." Rainbow Dash started to run towards the passageway only for "Fluttershy" to not follow. "Um, hello? Aren't you going to follow us?"

"Why should I follow you? After all, it is because of you that I am now little more than a vengeful spirit." "Fluttershy" said, blaming her friend for her fate.

"What? If you're joking Fluttershy, now is not the time for that," Rainbow Dash nervously responded as she tried to be brave.

"I am not joking. I am merely after my revenge for what you have done to me. I challenge you to a duel. The loser goes to the afterlife while the winner goes free,``''Fluttershy" gave an ultimatum.

"Rainbow Dash, maybe we should think this over. I don't know if this is Fluttershy or not. Either way, we should probably be careful and not jump into a duel like this," Rarity warned her brash friend.

"Look, if you really are my friend then I guess I should duel you so that I can jog your memory of who you really are!" Rainbow Dash boldly said as she got out her duel disk and placed it on her arm. "Ready?"

"Duel!" Both "Fluttershy" and Rainbow Dash said.

* * *

The rest of the group was going down the path, calling out for Alexis as they did so. Eventually, everyone got to the end of the passageway and saw an unconscious Alexis inside of an open casket. "There she is! Let's go get her!" Jaden called out as he ran towards their friend. Suddenly, they were interrupted by another voice.

"You'll find that you cannot reach your friend. She is lost within the shadows, never to be seen again," the tall figure in black and with a duel vest revealed as he appeared out of the smoke. "And this Shadow Game will be your last."

"Hand over Alexis right now or you'll be sorry," Jaden warned the tall man, Titan.

"I'm afraid not. You'll have to beat me in a Shadow Game to get her back. Otherwise, she is mine forever," Titan gave his ultimatum.

"Yeah, right. There is no such thing as Shadow Games," Jaden countered.

"Yeah, well the others also didn't believe in the Shadow Games, but they were soon convinced," Titan warned.

"So, you're the one responsible for all of those students disappearing," Jaden guessed. "Well, you're not getting any of us, especially not Alexis."

"Unless you beat me in a duel, she will be all mine as will you be." Titan said confidently.

"Twilight, duel disk?" Jaden asked of his friend.

"Right here, Twilight said as she handed over a duel disk for him to use.

"Thanks. Get your game on!" Jaden started up his duel disk.

"Shadow Game that is," Titan said, trying to be threatening.

"Duel!" Both yelled at once.

"I'll start things off by summoning Infernal Queen Archfiend in attack mode," Titan said as he summoned a creepy Archfiend (900/1500).

"An Archfiend monster? What's that?" Syrus was confused.

"Archfiends are a type of monster that are incredibly powerful. They require you to pay Life Points in order to keep them in play, though, which can be risky without the right setup," Twilight explained what Archfiends do.

"Right, and my Infernal Queen Archfiend can increase the attack points of an Archfiend by 1000 points for a turn," Titan explained as his monster's attack points went up (1900/1500).

"Yeah, well go ahead. Like Twilight said, you need to pay Life Points to play your Archfiends which can prove to be damaging in the long term," Jaden confidently said.

"Maybe so. So that is why I plan to play the Pandamonium field spell," Titan responded as he played the field spell inside of a special slot on his duel disk. After playing the field spell, a bunch of reddish color entered the room, and with it a bunch of spooky statues. In addition, the coffin holding the unconscious Alexis closed and was pulled underground. "With this field spell, I don't have to pay Life Points for my Archfiends and if they ever destroyed outside of battle, I get to add another one to my hand. Looks like your friend is all but lost to the shadows."

"Hey, that isn't fair!" Applejack cried out. "Why don't you actually duel without using Alexis as bait.

"Yeah, why are you doing this to her anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"I'm doing this because it is my job to do so. Though I may add you and your other friends in on the terror if you don't quiet down," Titan darkly warned.

"Hey, don't hurt them!" Jaden said protectively. "Now, it's my draw. _I don't have anything in my hand that can go up against 1900 attack points. But still-_I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" Jaden summoned a hero wearing a green jumpsuit and with talons on both feet and one hand (1000/1000). "I'll also throw two facedowns."

"Too bad you won't get a chance to use them. My turn!" Titan said as he was prepared to make his next move, which could potentially be Jaden's last.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the main room of the dorm, "Fluttershy" and Rainbow Dash were ready to duel.

"Okay, my turn. I start off by summoning Dancing Fairy in attack mode," "Fluttershy" said as she summoned a trio of fairies onto the field (1700/1000). "I'll also play one card facedown for later. It's your turn, so make it count."

"Alright, my turn. First, I'll summon the Black Stone of Legend to the field in attack mode." Rainbow Dash summoned a black stone of powerful energy onto the field (0/0). "Next, I'll sacrifice said stone in order to summon a Red Eyes Black Dragon from my deck in attack mode." Suddenly, a giant black dragon was summoned onto the field (2400/2000). "Next, I'll activate the spell card Inferno Fire Blast. With it, I can inflict damage to your Life Points equal to my dragon's attack power. So, be prepared to lose 2400 Life Points." A powerful surge of red energy shot out at "Fluttershy" and hit her, leaving her unphased by the attack. "I'll end my turn with a facedown."

"**Fluttershy"**

**1600**

**Rainbow Dash**

**4000**

"Do you think that will be all that is necessary to win? Well, think again."

"All I'm thinking is whether or not you truly are Fluttershy or not." Rainbow Dash responded. "After all, you may have used a card or two that was hers, but you still haven't proved yourself to be her."

"How about I prove myself then? I summon Dark Resonator to the field in attack mode." A mysterious fiend holding a tuning fork was summoned to "Fluttershy's" field (1300/300). "Now, I'll tune my Dark Resonator with my Dancing Fairy in order to synchro summon Ancient Fairy Dragon." A blue elegant serpent-like dragon was summoned to "Fluttershy's" field (2100/3000).

"What? No way. That's impossible! Only Fluttershy has that card!" Rainbow Dash reacted in horror at the idea that something terrible did indeed happen to her friend.

"Well, I guess that settles it. I am the real Fluttershy, and I'm gonna send you into the shadows. Now, I activate the trap card Inverse Universe! With it, the attack and defense points of all effect monsters on the field for as long as they remain faceup on the field. So, that means that my dragon now has 3000 attack points!" (3000/2100) "Now, Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack Rainbow Dash's Red Eyes!" Ancient Fairy Dragon launched out many light vines out that struck the opposing dragon, destroying him.

"**Fluttershy"**

**1600**

**Rainbow Dash**

**3400**

"I'll end my turn there. It's your move, Rainbow Dash. Make it count as it may be your last," the pink haired duelist threatened.

"Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?" Rarity asked in concern.

Rainbow Dash struggled to get back up, still recovering from the attack that felt somewhat real to her. "Don't worry. I'm fine. It's my opponent who should be worried. _Why is Fluttershy like this anyway? Maybe I can reach her by reminding her of the past._" Rainbow Dash claimed, even if she didn't completely mean it. Either way, it was clear that she needed to act fast. Otherwise, she could lose one of her best friends forever.

* * *

"I'll summon Terrorking Archfiend to the field in attack mode," A powerful fiend brandishing a sword was summoned to Titan's field (2000/1500). "Now you have two vicious Archfiends to deal with. But things get even better as my Terrorking Archfiend will gain 1000 attack points thanks to Infernal Queen Archfiend. Now, Terrorking Archfiend, attack Avian with Locust Storm Barrage!" Terrorking's chest opened up, releasing many large locusts to attack the hero monster.

"Not so fast! I activate the trap card Mirror Gate! With it, our monsters change positions. So, your Terrorking Archfiend's 3000 attack points are going to work for me!" Jaden said confidently.

"You really think you could bait me into a trap?" Titan asked with no worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I think so. Why?" Jaden was confused.

"Because you are the one who is going to be trapped. I activate my Terrorking Archfeind's special ability. Now, with it I get to select a number between 1 and 6 randomly. If it is a 2 or a 5, Terrorking Archfiend stays on my side of the field and the attack will continue as normal. Now, let's spin the wheel shall we?" Six colored orbs appeared that started to have a fire move around the orbs in a clockwise circle, eventually ending up on 2. "It's a two. So, now my Terrorking's attack goes through. Locust Storm Barrage!" Elemental Hero Avian was struck by the Locusts, destroying him and lowering Jaden's Life Points to 2000.

**Titan**

**4000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2000**

"Well, that stinks. But I still have my other trap. Hero Signal. With it, I can summon an Elemental Hero Monster to fight on my side of the field from my deck or hand. And I'll summon Elemental Hero Clayman in defense mode." A warrior covered in rubble was summoned to Jaden's field(800/2000).

"Way to duel!" Syrus confidently responded.

"Yeah. That Clayman should keep Jaden safe from any further harm this turn," Pinkie Pie breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's what you think." Titan said, much to everyone else's confusion. "At least, he won't be safe from this!" Titan said as he lifted up what looked like the Millennium Puzzle, which began to shine a yellow light. "Welcome to the Shadow Game." As Titan said this, everyone was shocked to see part of Jaden's body disappear, especially around his arm.

"What? Hey, what happened to my arm?" Jaden was confused. The rest of the group looked on nervously as the field was covered in black smoke, making it hard to breathe.

"There. Doesn't your Life Points now seem insignificant now that it is your very life at stake? Yes, soon you will all fall into a pit of endless darkness and will belong to the shadows for the rest of your days!" Titan grinned sadistically.

"Give me a break. I'm not scared of the dark. We have blackout curtains that allow us to sleep in," Jaden bounced back.

"Well, you will soon be scared. Make your next move. It may be your last," Titan warned.

"A Shadow Game? Who could have asked for a better challenge?" Jaden muttered to himself in full confidence, much to everyone else's confusion. "My turn. And I play the spell card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards. Next, I'll play Polymerization to fuse the Clayman on my field with the Sparkman in my hand in order to summon Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" A towering golem was summoned onto Jaden's field (2400/1500). "Next, I'll use his special ability to destroy your Terrorking Archfiend. Go, Thunder Giant!"

In response to this, Titan just grinned. "I use my Terrorking's special ability once again. Roulette, go!" Once again, a flame moved from orb to orb, eventually, stopping on a 5. "Looks like I win again. Fate isn't even on your side half of the time!" Titan confidently smirked as Thunder Giant's attack went back to him, destroying him in the process. "Now, you are wide open to an attack from both of my monsters!" Titan grinned as he laughed wickedly. "At this rate, my Archfiend deck will finish off all of your monsters and my Millenium Item will finish off your soul."

"This duel is far from over. I play the spell card Mirage of Nightmare. And I'll throw down a couple of facedowns while I'm at it," Jaden responded.

"So be it. But you won't last long enough to use any more of your cards. Alexis's soul will be lost to the shadows along with yours. My move," Titan confidently smirked.

"Hold on. I think you're forgetting something. See, thanks to the effect of Mirage of Nightmare, I get to draw four cards," Jaden announced.

"Go ahead. You can have four million cards and it still wouldn't make a difference. My monsters will defeat you this turn. Speaking of which, Terrorking Archfiend, attack him directly."

"Good thing I have my facedown card Mirror Force! Say goodbye to all of your monsters in attack mode!" Jaden countered.

"Woo hoo! Jaden's making a comeback! At this rate, we'll be getting out of here okay and with Alexis as well!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

Both Infernal Queen Archfiend and Terrorking Archfiend were suddenly surrounded by flames that proceeded to envelop them, leading to their destruction.

"You may have destroyed my monsters, but this is far from over. I activate the effect of Des Rook Archfiend. By discarding him from my hand I am able to resurrect one of my Archfiends and I choose Terrorking Archfiend." Terrorking Archfiend resurrected himself in attack mode. "And, there is more. Thanks to my field spell, I am able to add a weaker  
Archfiend from my deck to my hand. But that won't matter because I can attack you with my Terrorking. Go, Locust Storm Barrage!" Terrorking launched out a bunch of locusts from his chest.

"Hold on! I play my spell card Emergency Provisions. With it, I can sacrifice a spell or trap card and gain 1000 Life Points for each one. So, I'll sacrifice my Mirage of Nightmare and gain 1000 Life Points!" Jaden's Life Points went up to 3000 before they were lowered to 1000 thanks to Terrorking's attack.

**Titan**

**4000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**1000**

"You still stand?" Titan was surprised to see Jaden still in this duel.

"As long as I still have two good legs."

"But your legs are not fine. And neither are your arms!" Titan said as he got out his Millenium Item. It shined brightly, and in an instant, Jaden's right arm faded away, leaving only his hand.

"Jaden's fading fast!" Syus said in worry for his friend.

"Talk about hanging on by a limb," Jaden muttered. "I better turn this duel around and fast. Jaden drew his card, ready to try and make a comeback. "I play the spell card the Warrior Returning Alive! With it, I'll bring back my Elemental Hero Avian! And then, I'll use Polymerization to fuse Avian with Burtsinatrix to form Elemental Hero Flame Wingman! And, I'll have him attack your Terrorking Archfiend! Skydive Scorcher!" Flame Wingman shot out a barrage of flames at Terrorking, causing damage to Titan's Life Points. "Oh, and did I mention his superpower? When Flame Wingman destroys a monster, you take damage equal to his attack points!" Flame Wingman directly damaged Titan's Life Points, lowering them to 1900. Suddenly, parts of Titan's body started to fade away.

**Titan**

**1900**

**Jaden Yuki**

**1000**

"Wow. Parts of him are starting to disappear too," Syrus was surprised.

"Sorry, but this duel is far from over. I have another Des Rook Archfiend and I will discard him to bring back my Terrorking Archfiend," Titan said as he discarded his card, bringing back his mighty monster.

"I need to find a way to defeat his Terrorking. But, for now, I better protect myself with Dark Catapulter in defense mode (1000/1500)!" Jaden ended his turn with that. "Go ahead and do your worst!"

"You want my worst? Fine. I'll give it to you," Titan drew his card, grinning all the while. "I sacrifice my Terrorking in order to bring out the Skull Archfiend of Lightning!" A skeleton that looked like the Summoned Skull but more twisted was summoned onto Titan's field (2500/1200). "Every last bolt of electricity that he has will show you that he is indeed my worst!" Skull Archfiend attacked Flame Wingman, bringing Jaden's Life Points down to 600.

**Titan**

**1900**

**Jaden Yuki**

**600**

"_I gotta hang on, for Alexis."_ Jaden thought in desperation.

"Look into my Millenium Item and watch as you fade even further away," Titan announced as he held up his glowing Millenium Item. "You're almost out of Life Points and your soul will drift even further away."

Jaden fell onto the floor, barely able to stand up at all.

"This is bad! Jaden can't even stand up!" Twilight was worried.

"_Yes, the shadows are a powerful weapon indeed, even the ones only in your mind. If only he knew," _Titan smirked wickedly as he thought to himself.

* * *

Rainbow Dash had just managed to stand back up, ready to turn the duel against "Fluttershy" around. "Alright, it's about time we get things back to normal, Fluttershy. And, I'll start off by summoning Twin Sword Marauder in defense mode." A warrior with swords around both hands appeared, crouching on his knee (1600/1000). "I end my turn with that."

"Go ahead. This turn may very well be your last. My move!" "Fluttershy" smirked.

"Come on, Fluttershy. You have to remember who we are right? I'm an old friend. I raced some bullies to defend your honor. You went with Rarity to the spa once a week. Please, remember us," Rainbow Dash practically pleaded.

"The only thing I remember is how you have caused my demise, which I will now gain revenge for. I start off by summoning Sunlight Unicorn in attack mode (1800/1000) and I'll have her attack your Twin Sword Marauder." The unicorn attacked and destroyed the warrior. "Now, Ancient Fairy Dragon, attack her directly!" Ancient Fairy Dragon launched a barrage of magical vines, lowering Rainbow's Life Points to 400.

"**Fluttershy"**

**1600**

**Rainbow Dash  
400**

"Fluttershy," Rainbow Dash moaned as she picked herself up with great difficulty.

"I end my turn. Next turn, I'll win for sure. Go ahead and play as many dragons as you like. I'll destroy all of your creatures and send them to the grave!" "Fluttershy" claimed.

"Wait...Fluttershy is scared of dragons. Even with getting more used to them playing Duel Monsters she is still scared. Rainbow Dash, this person…," Rarity realized.

"Isn't Fluttershy! Well, you big fake. I think it's about time you show us who you really are!" Rainbow Dash yelled out.

"Very well, since you two finally figured it out, I'll show you!" At this, "Fluttershy" suddenly morphed into a balding, overweight clown. "I am known as the Mimic of Doom. I can make myself look like anyone and mimic them flawlessly. I was hired to scare you off, Rainbow Dash, but it looks like I failed at that job. Still, perhaps if you were to lose this duel, I may still get my pay!"

"Well, how about no? You tricked me into thinking that something terrible happened to one of my best friends. Well, it's about time you pay for that!" At this, Rainbow's eyes turned from purple to a light brown. "First, I play the spell card Fissure, which will let me destroy the weakest monster on your field, meaning that your Sunlight Unicorn is destroyed." A bunch of ground broke under Sunlight Unicorn, causing her to fall down into a newly formed pit. "Next, I special summon Vice Dragon from my hand!" A large purple dragon flew down onto Rainbow's field (2000/2400). "When you control one or more monsters and I don't, I can summon Vice Dragon in exchange for halving it's attack and defense points (1000/1200). Next, I summon my own Dark Resonator to the field (1300/300). Now I tune Dark Resonator with my Vice Dragon in order to synchro summon Red Dragon Archfiend!" A powerful dragon colored black and red flew down onto Rainbow's field (3000/2000). "Now, Red Dragon Archfiend, attack and destroy Ancient Fairy Dragon!" The two monsters clashed, leading to both of them being destroyed in the end. "Finally, I'll play Call of the Haunted in order to revive Red Dragon Archfiend. Now, I'll have him attack you directly! Absolute Powerforce!" Red Dragon Archfiend attacked the Mimic of Doom with his burning red claws, reducing his Life Points to 0. As this happened, Rainbow's eyes returned to their normal color.

After the duel had ended, the Mimic of Doom was left sitting on the ground, scared out of his wits by Rainbow Dash's fierce dueling. "I'm sorry! Please, don't hurt me! Here, you can have your friend's deck back!" The Mimic of Doom proceeded to hand back Fluttershy's deck, including Ancient Fairy Dragon. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go and rethink my life." The Mimic of Doom proceeded to run off before either Rainbow Dash and Rarity could ask where Fluttershy was. Fortunately, the heard a voice come from underneath one of the white cloths that was on a couch.

"Um, girls? Are you there? It's pretty dark here and I'm getting scared," the real Fluttershy muttered out in fear.

"Fluttershy!" Both Rarity and Rainbow Dash were relieved to see that their friend was fine, removing the cloth and hugging her tightly.

"Man, we were so worried about you Fluttershy!" Rarity was happy to see her.

"Um, okay? Guys, what is going on?" Fluttershy was confused.

"We'll tell you on the way down this hallway," Rainbow Dash answered as the trio turned to look down the hallway.

* * *

As Jaden was suffering, not even being able to stand, he suddenly heard a coo come from Winged Kuriboh. "_Winged Kuriboh? Hey pal, what are you trying to tell me?" Jaden thought to himself as _Winged Kuriboh formed into a small glowing orb, which proceeded to move around the room around Titan. "_Whoa, Winged Kuriboh. Can you please stop moving? You're going to hypnotize me sooner than you help me. Wait. That's it. We're not playing the shadows. He's playing with my mind!" _Jaden was finally able to get back up, confidence restored. "Alright, I got this little Shadow Game scam of yours figured out!"

"Wait, did he just say Shadow Game scam?" Twilight realized.

"What does Jaden mean?" Syrus asked in confusion.

"It'll all be cleared up soon enough," Jaden simply answered. "My turn!" Jaden yelled as he drew his card.

"_What's wrong? Why isn't he scared anymore?" _Titan was confused.

"First, I'm gonna activate Dark Catapulter's special ability. With it, by removing one card from my graveyard, I can destroy a spell or trap card in play for every turn that Catapulter was in defense mode. So, since Catapulter was in defense mode for one turn, I'll remove Avian from my graveyard to destroy your Pandamonium card!" Jaden explained.

At this, Dark Catapulter shot out an orb of energy at Titan's duel disk, which proceeded to shatter the field spell card in play. Titan was not finished trying to play with Jaden's mind, however. "Don't forget, I still have this!" Titan called out as he lifted his Millenium Item.

"Have you ever heard of be careful what you wish for?" Jaden countered as he threw Avian at the Item, cracking the Millenium Item all over the front of it.

"Wait, what did you do," Titan scaredly asked Jaden. All of a sudden, Jaden's missing body returned to him.

"Good job, Jaden! Your body is all back in one piece!" Pinkie Pie congratulated Jaden.

"I never lost my body to begin with. He was just using hypnosis. A bunch of smoke and mirrors to make me think I was losing my soul. In fact, I think this guy must just be some out of work carney," Jaden mocked the malicious man.

"Hey, I can get my job back at the fair anytime I want!" the formerly scary man tried to defend himself.

"I'm sure you could, you big phony, and I'm sure that your Millenium Item works well with the kiddies," Jaden joked.

"Grrr. Oh, but don't forget. I still have the girl's soul," Titan tried to salvage the situation.

"Alexis!" Syrus was concerned for the girl's fate.

"Well, if her fate is as fake as this Shadow Game, I'd say she is likely fine," Twilight figured.

"Not likely, I still have her soul in the recesses of the shadows. This proves this Millenium Pendant is real!" Titan wickedly laughed to himself.

"I don't think so!" Jaden smirked. "We saw all of the Millenium Items carved on a wall. And yours would be the Millenium Puzzle, not Pendant. So, give us back Alexis!"

"No way! After that earlier carney comment you can find your friend on your own!" Titan yelled as he threw a smoke bomb onto the floor.

"No you don't! Get back here!" Jaden called out as he ran after Titan, only for bright lights to shine from the snake head statues in the room, leading to a symbol of the Eye of Wdjat glowing on the ground. "Hey, how did you do that."

"I didn't," Titan answered, just as confused as to the meaning of the symbol as Jaden was.

Suddenly, a bunch of black smoke spiraled around the two duelists, forming a dark colored orb around the two. "Whoa, how did you pull this off?" Jaden asked the phony.

"I didn't. I can't pull off something like this!" Suddenly, many different gray blob creatures surrounded the man as they started to try and devour him. "Jaden, please, save me!" Titan pleaded, with one blob entering his mouth.

Jaden was cautious as the blobs also surrounded Jaden. Fortunately, before they could try and devour him, Winged Kuriboh popped out of Jaden's duel disk and moved towards the blobs. The blobs proceeded to back away from Winged Kuriboh, keeping Jaden safe. "Wow, I'm glad that I have a friend like you, Winged Kuriboh."

Titan, meanwhile, was no longer being devoured. As his eyes started to glow red, the blobs moved away from him. "Jaden Yuki, the shadows yearn for a soul, and only one of us will make it out alive," the now brainwashed man said.

"Oh, come on! Now you have red contacts? You really went all out for this scam, didn't you," Jaden said, not believing that this was a real Shadow Game.

"This duel shall now continue, and the loser's soul will belong to the shadows," Titan said.

"Alright! I'm always willing to duel!" Jaden decided to continue the duel. "I play the spell card Monster Reincarnation! This allows for me to discard one card and bring back another monster to my hand. And then, I'll summon to the field Elemental Hero Sparkman in defense mode (1600/1400)!"

"Very well, now it's my move!" Titan said.

"Hold on, big dark, and scary! Without your Pandamonium card, you have to pay 500 Life Points to play that Archfiend card!" Jaden reminded the man.

Titan released some dark smoke from inside his mouth as he payed 500 Life Points

**Titan**

**1400**

**Jaden Yuki**

**600**

"A few Life Points is worth getting a soul. Now, Skull Archfiend of Lightning! Attack and destroy that Dark Catapulter!" In a strong flash of lightning, the Dark Catapulter was destroyed.

"Wow, he is really pulling out all the stops for this duel, huh?" Jaden was impressed.

"Now, I place one card facedown and summon the Des Rook Archfiend to end my turn (1100/1800)."

Winged Kuriboh cooed in worry for Jaden, only for Jaden to give some reassurance. "Don't worry Winged Kuriboh. I'll make sure that nothing bad happens. My draw!" Jaden then thought to himself, "_They say that a good defense is a good offense, but the good thing about this card is that it lets me have both!" _"Alright, I'm putting Sparkman into attack mode! Next, I'll be equipping my Sparkman with the Spark Blaster spell card! It has three shots and each one allows for me to switch the battle mode of a monster. And I think I know the monster to use it on first!"

"Go ahead and use it on my Skull Archfiend of Lightning. His 1200 defense points should make for easy conquest, unless the roulette negates your effect again," Titan reminded Jaden.

"Actually, that wasn't what I had in mind. In fact, I'm not even using the blaster yet. First I'll attack your Des Rook Archfiend. As for who I'm gonna use the Spark Blaster on? The Sparkman himself!" Jaden revealed his plan. Sparkman was switched to defense mode.

**Titan**

**900**

**Jaden Yuki**

**600**

"You coward! Fist you attack my Life Points then you switch your monster's battle mode to protect your own! But it matters not, because I play the trap card Battle Scarred! Now the 500 Life Point cost for Skull Archfiend of Lightning affects you as well!"

**Titan**

**400**

**Jaden Yuki **

**100**

"Don't worry, Winged Kuriboh. We still have Sparkman!" Jaden reassured Winged Kuriboh as he scared away more of the blobs.

"Not for long! Skull Archfiend, attack Sparkman! Next, I'll play a card facedown and activate Double Spell. By discarding one meaningless spell card, I can take a spell from your graveyard. And I choose Emergency Provisions!" Titan took the spell from Jaden's graveyard. "And I'll play it to remove my facedown and gain 1000 Life Points. This duel is over. You have no cards on your field or in your hand, Battle Scarred will take your last Life Points on my next turn and you will join the students I have taken!"

**Titan**

**1400**

**Jaden Yuki**

**100**

"Better make this turn count, because one way or another it's going to be my last. My draw!" Jaden drew his card. "I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode!" A man in blue armor summoned himself to Jaden's field (800/1200). "You see, if he is the only card in my hand I'm allowed to special summon him. And, if he's the only card on my field when summoned, I get to draw two more cards! And I drew his favorite. Bubble Shuffle. See, this spell card works like this. I switch Bubbleman and a monster you control to defense mode. Then, I get to summon a hero!"

"If my Skull Archfiend's roulette doesn't make your spell card useless that is. If the roulette lands on a 1, 3, or 6 your spell card will get cancelled!" At this, the roulette ran until it hit a 2. "Two?!"Titan was shocked as both monsters switched to defense mode.

"Sweet! Finally, I win. Now give a warm welcome to Elemental Hero Bladedge!" A shiny golden monster was summoned into Jaden's field (2600/1800). "You must be thinking that my Hero's blades are really sharp, well you'd be right! If he attacks a defense mode monster, the difference between them and Bladedge's attack points are dealt as damage to you! Now, Bladedge, attack his Skull Archfiend!" The golden hero attacked the archfiend, reducing Titan's Life Points to 0.

At this, the gray blob creatures proceeded to devour Titan, much to his displeasure.

"Wow. impressive!" Jaden was impressed by what he believed were special effects. Suddenly, Winged Kuriboh noticed a small crack of light, an exit, from this Shadow Game. Jaden fell out of the shadow orb, with the reunited Mane 6 and Syrus there to greet him.

"Jaden! You're okay!" Syrus was relieved to see his friend was fine.

"Of course I am, Syrus! Jaden reassured.

"Hey, Jaden. I also faced another one of those fake Shadow Game players and won! Pretty awesome, huh?" Rainbow Dash boasted.

"You better believe it is. Still, wonder why there were two of these guys here for?" Jaden was curious. Before anyone could answer, the dark orb suddenly vanished completely, leaving behind the group and the still unconscious Alexis.

* * *

"That Jaden must be paralyzed with fear by now. Oh, Shadow Duelist! I want to hear every last detail! Every last chattering of his jaw!" Crowler said as he and Clarissa walked down the hall of the abandoned dorm. However, to his shock he saw only the Pandemonium card on the ground. "The Pandamonium card?! He wouldn't just leave this unless...he failed! First that clown says he was leaving in fear and now this?! Grr. What is up with these guys?! Can't hire good help these days!"

* * *

"Hey, wake up sleepy head," Jaden playfully teased.

Alexis started to wake up at this. "Huh? What happened?"

Jaden answered, "What happened is that we found trouble, beat the bad guy, and rescued the damsel in distress."

"Huh? Oh, right! That man snatched me," Alexis remembered.

"While we were in there we found your card and this picture," Applejack said as she handed them over.

"This is...my brother. Thank you guys! I've been searching for the longest time and this is the first trace I've had of him," Alexis explained gratefully.

"Hey, just know that all of us are willing to help you look for him if you wish," Rarity offered to help.

"Yeah, I mean, might as well continue to be awesome and save people," Rainbow Dash offered her help as well.

"Just please don't get captured again, at least not in a place like this," Fluttershy said, half joking.

"Oh, the sun's coming up, Jaden!" Syrus pointed out. "Let's get going!"

"Remember, we weren't here!" Jaden called to Alexis as everyone but Rarity and Twilight left.

"It's strange, Rarity. First, Jaden is lured over to the girl's dorm and now some creepy people try to scare him and Rainbow Dash away," Twilight was suspicious.

"What do you think is going on?" Rarity asked her friend.

"I think that we need to investigate. Someone may be trying to expel our friends," Twilight decided.

"Okay, where should we start?" Rarity asked. "Should we try the Obelisk Blue students or go straight to Chancellor Sheppard?

"I think we should ask Alexis for help," Twilight decided.


	9. Duel and Unusual Punishment

It was late at night, near the lighthouse. Zane was standing nearby, looking out at the sea. Suddenly, Alexis Rhodes was walking towards the lighthouse as well. "Zane? What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to be alone," Zane responded to Alexis.

"You know, once your brother enrolled into the school I thought that you would like to be alone less often," Alexis reasoned.

"Maybe that is because my brother shouldn't be here," Zane bluntly stated.

"You know, earlier today, Twilight came up to me and asked me to help her find out who may be trying to expel Jaden and Rainbow Dash," Alexis said.

"Really? What makes her think that they are being expelled?" Zane asked.

"Well, she thinks that it is because of a few incidents involving them almost getting in trouble since they got here. I wanted to ask for you to talk to the Obelisk Blues and see if any of them wrote a letter. I asked all the female Obelisk Blues but none of them wrote it," Alexis explained.

"Fine. I'll ask them. Gives me something to do outside of class," Zane accepted the task.

* * *

The next day, an armored car was driving toward the Slifer Red dorm. In it, was a bunch of soldiers, Doug the dalmatian, and a woman, who was the leader of the group. This group was the Disciplinary Action Squad, who were only called into to deal with extreme cases of rule breaking.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of the Slifer Red dorm, with the group leaving to rush towards Jaden's room. When they got to Jaden's dorm, the leader banged on the door, demanding they open up. "Open this door right now, or we will blow it up!" She threatened.

"Yeah, you and what army?" The sleepy Jaden mumbled in response, the statement not fully registering yet.

"The Disciplinary Action Squad army, that's who!" the woman yelled.

At this, Jaden realized what was being said and was shocked. "Wait, blowing up the door?! Disciplinary Action Squad?!" Jaden opened the door up, with the woman and a few of the soldiers entering the room.

"You must be Jaden." She then referred to Syrus, "You must be Syrus. And the student on top must be Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow and Syrus woke up in response to the questioning. "Hey, Jaden. Who are these guys?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We are the Disciplinary Action Squad, and you are under arrest!" the woman told the trio.

* * *

"What?! Suspended?!" Jaden, Syrus, and Rainbow Dash were shocked at the trouble they were in.

"That is what I suggest. An anonymous letter from one of our faculty members confirms that the three of you were at the abandoned dorm. You must be punished so that an example will be set for all the students," the woman explained.

"But what kind of example would we be setting? That we are a bunch of hard hearted tyrants? I suggest that we set up duels for the three of them. A tag duel for Jaden and Syrus and a one on one duel for Rainbow Dash. If they win, they go free. Lose, and they are expelled." Crowler suggested.

"A tag duel? Sounds sweet!" Jaden was happy to duel.

"Yeah! We'll be free to go in no time flat!" Rainbow Dash cried out in excitement.

"But guys, he said expelled," Syrus whispered to them both.

"I believe that they have accepted the conditions, Chancellor," Crowler convinced the man.

"Well, alright. The duels are set. I'll find some opponents to match them up with," Chancellor Sheppard said.

"Now, hold on, Chancellor. You won't have to worry about finding them opponents. I'll take care of all the particulars. Meeting adjourned," Crowler responded.

* * *

"You wanted to see me, Rainbow Dash?" Chancellor Sheppard asked the student.

"Yeah. You see, I believe that I should be Jaden's partner. I was wanting to go into the dorm along with Jaden so it's only fair that the two of us are the only ones that are punished," Rainbow Dash explained.

Suddenly, the door opened and Alexis and Twilight also entered the room. "Oh, and what might the two of you be doing here?" Sheppard asked.

"Well, sir, I was thinking that I may be Jaden's tag partner," Alexis said. "After all, the main reason they were there was to help me."

"That's wrong Alexis. Let me be Jaden's tag partner and let Syrus go," Rainbow Dash pleaded.

"Well, I appreciate what the two of you are trying to do, but the duels have been set. Now, just let Crowler do his job and set up the appointments. That is all." Sheppard concluded. At this, Alexis and Rainbow Dash left the office. Twilight, however, stayed in the room. "And, what might you want?"

"Well, sir. It has come to my attention that someone at this school might be aiming to have Jaden and Rainbow Dash leave the campus. When they went to the abandoned dorm, there were strange men looking to duel them and scare them off the island. Not only that, but a fake love letter was written to Jaden and put into Syrus's locker. I know you may not believe me, but there is likely something suspicious going on either way," Twilight gave her piece.

"I don't know what to think," the Chancellor said as he petted Snowball the dog. "Regardless, I can't just drop the punishments of the students because of this. I'll still try and look into this. You just go back to your studies," the Chancellor concluded.

"Yes, sir," Twilight bowed and then left.

* * *

As Rainbow Dash entered her dorm room, she was immediately met with an embrace by Syrus. "Oh, please tell me that he said yes to you dueling with Jaden! If I duel I'll get us both expelled!" Syrus pleaded.

"I'm sorry, but no. The duels were already set," Rainbow Dash apologized.

"Aw man, we're in so much trouble," Syrus moaned.

"Hey, it's not that bad, Syrus. I couldn't have asked for a better partner if you ask me," Jaden calmly stated.

This confused Syrus. "But Jaden, don't you remember that we'll get expelled if we lose?"

"That's why we're going to work out our kinks by dueling each other right here right now," Jaden said full of confidence.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea, Syrus. What better way to work on your dueling than to go up against other opponents?" Rainbow Dash agreed

"Well, I guess I can try," Syrus unenthusiastically mumbled, much to the concern of the two roomates.

* * *

"Alright, you two. Here is where you guys both duel in order to get ready for the tag duel! Let's start off by going easy and get more serious as the duel goes on. Then again, Jaden doesn't know how to go easy," Rainbow Dash tried to be encouraging as the two were about to begin their duel by the sea, with Rainbow Dash positioned on the cliff above them..

"I think that that's a good thing," Alexis suddenly butted in as she arrived where Rainbow was, with Fluttershy behind her. "I know Crowler and he won't be selecting any pushovers for your duels."

"You think so?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I'm afraid that I agree with Alexis, Rainbow Dash. Poor Syrus. From what you've said he likely is scared out of his wits about dueling in front of others. If only there was something we could do to help," Fluttershy was worried.

"Alright, Syrus. It's time we have fun and get our game on. Let's duel!" Jaden cried out.

"Yeah. Let's duel. Might as well have some fun before we get kicked out of here," Syrus mumbled unenthusiastically.

"What was that, Syrus?" Jaden asked.

"N-nothing!" Syrus answered.

"Alright then, my draw! Sweet! I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode!" A warrior wearing green and with talons was summoned to Jaden's field (1000/1000). "I'll also throw down a facedown! Your turn, Syrus!"

"Yeah. My turn.?" Syrus looked into his hand and noticed that one of his cards was Patroid (1200/1200). "_Hey, my Patroid's attack can defeat Jaden's Avian."_

"Hey, Syrus? What's that smile about? Do you have something sweet?" Jaden asked his friend.

"Yeah, I think so. Patroid, attack mode," Syrus answered as he summoned a cartoony cop car onto his field. "Now, attack with Siren Smasher!" Patroid started to rush towards Avian as his siren blared.

"Not so fast! I play my trap, Negate Attack!" Jaden called out.

"Aw man. I should have realized that your facedown was a trap," Syrus muttered in disappointment.

"Duh. Syrus walked right into that one," Rainbow Dash shook her head at the obvious blunder. Suddenly, she felt Pharaoh rubbing against her legs and picked him up.

"This isn't a good sign. The two of them won't stand a chance in their tag match if they keep playing like that," Alexis was concerned.

Meanwhile, Syrus was drawing a G symbol on the dirt. "Oh boy. Don't you think that dirt is just the coolest, Jaden?" Syrus nervously asked his friend.

"Relax, Sy. Don't crack up now. You just made one mistake is all," Jaden comforted his anxious friend.

"Yeah. Coming to this school," Syrus miserably muttered.

"No, you just forgot to use Patroid's special power is all. He lets you see one of your opponent's facedown cards each turn is all," Jaden explained.

"Yeah, I know I'm no good," Syrus called out, much to everyone's shock.

"Whoa, I didn't mean anything like that. Still, you're right. I shouldn't but in. We're opponents right now, and we should act like it! My turn!" Jaden looked at his hand and summoned Elemental Hero Sparkman in attack mode (1600/1400). "Now Elemental Hero Sparkman, attack Syrus's Patroid!" Sparkman created an electric trident and threw it at Patroid, destroying hima nd lowering his Life Points to 3600. "Now Avian, attack Syrus directly!" Avian sent a breeze towards Strus before rushing towards him and punching him, lowering his Life Points to 2600. "I'll also throw down a facedown."

**Syurs Truesdale**

**2600**

**Jaden Yuki**

**4000**

"Can I crack up now? I've messed up on both of our turns! I'm no good. I can't do it," Syrus brought himself down.

"Yes you can, Syrus. You just need to believe in yourself," Alexis and Fluttershy both encouraged their anxious friend.

"Yeah, you can beat Jaden, Syrus! And you can totally win your tag duel as well!

Don't give up!" Rainbow Dash called out in encouragement.

"They're right! I can't give up now. Not when I'm also dueling for Jaden and not just for myself. Right now, the best thing I can do for Jaden would be to take him down! It's my turn!" Syrus said filled with confidence as he stood back up. Syrus's hand had cards like Gyroid, Steamroid, and Limiter Removal. "_I don't have a card that can take on Jaden right now. So I'll just have to try a different strategy. _I play the spell card pot of Greed in order to draw two additional cards." Upon seeing his hand, he noticed that he had drawn Polymerization and Power Bond. "_It's Power Bond!"_

Jaden was confused at why Syrus reacted the way he did to his current hand. "_Judging from the way Syrus reacted I'd say he just drew a sweet card."_

"Power Bond is like Polymerization, only better. It allows me to fusion summon a machine type monster and the monster summoned by the effect has it's attack points doubled. But I'm not good enough to use a card like that, at least according to my brother."

* * *

"_I'll never forget that day. I was dueling a very mean bully, and I wanted to show him that I wasn't going to be pushed around anymore."_

**Gorisuke**

**1900**

**Syrus Truesdale**

**1600**

"It's my turn! I draw!" Syrus drew Power Bond, much to his delight. "Sorry Gorisuke, but you won't be picking on me anymore. If anything, you're the one who should be afraid of me!"

"What are you talking about? I'm just gonna beat you down and claim my victory," the mean bully said.

"That's what you think. Then again, you probably don't think at all. And the thoughts you will have will be about crying home to mommy, especially after I play…" Syrus was about to play Power Bond only to be interrupted by a voice.

"Enough!" the voice said. Upon looking up, he saw that the source of the voice was his older brother Zane. Zane walked up to the bully and gave him a rare card. "Take this card. This duel never happened, got it?"

"That's a cool card. You got yourself a deal." the bully responded, accepting the card and leaving.

"What did you do that for Zane? I was about to win that duel with the card you gave me," Syrus was confused.

"No you weren't. And I never would have given you that card if I knew you would act the way you did or misplay the card like you were about to," Zane argued back to his younger brother.

"What was wrong with my behavior? That guy was a bully and I wasn;'t willing to let him put me down anymore. Besides, I wasn't going to misplay that card anyway," Syrus tried to defend himself.

"Yes you were. The trap card he had on the field was Spellbinding Circle. With it, he could have immobilized your monster and then Power Bond's adverse effect would have reduced your Life Points to zero. You were reckless and needlessly mean Syrus. You don't deserve to play that card until you've become a true duelist," Zane explained, much to Syrus's misery.

* * *

"Just holding this card is giving me some negative memories. And what did he mean I couldn't use it until I became a proper duelist and knew when to play the card? Aw man, this has gotten me worried," Syus muttered to himself.

"_Syrus is taking some time with his move," _Jaden thought to himself, worried at how his friend was taking a while to make his move. "Hey, you alright there Sy?"

Syrus was quick to shake off his apprehension and made his move. "Now, I'll play the spell card Polymerization! This allows me to fuse the Gyroid and the Steamroid in my hand in order to summon Steam Gyroid!" A cartoon train and helicopter fused into a flying train monster (2200/1600). "Now, Steam Gyroid, attack with Train Twister!" Steam Gyroid created a tornado that proceeded to hit Avian. The monster then proceeded to hit the warrior by ramming into him, destroying him and dealing damage. "So, had enough practice yet?" Syrus asked overconfidently.

**Syrus Truesdale**

**2600**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2800**

Much to Syrus's surprise, Jaden was laughing and not at all undeterred. "What do you mean have I had enough? You know the old saying no pain no gain. Well, you are about to gain a lot may be one of my best friends, but now we're rivals! And I have just the cards to treat you like one! I play the spell card Polymerization. Fusing Sparkman on my field and Clayman in my hand together to form Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" The two monsters merged together in the now stormy sky in order to form Thunder Giant (2400/1500).

"The sky is very scary right now, Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy muttered nervously.

"And to make things worse for Syrus, Thunder Giant can destroy a monster weaker than him the turn he is summoned. This duel is unfortunately over," Rainbow Dash looked away.

"Yeah. Sorry Syrus," Alexis apologized on Syrus's behalf.

"Now, Thunder Giant, destroy Steam Gyroid!" Jaden called out as Thunder Giant created a bunch of electric rain, destroying Steam Gyroid.

"Aw man, now I'm completely defenseless," Syrus was disappointed.

"That's true, Syrus. And I'm gonna add to it by summoning Elemental Hero Burstinatrix in attack mode!" The female monster was summoned onto Jaden's field (1200/800). "Now, Thunder Giant, attack with Voltic Thunder!" Thunder Giant launched a powerful electric volt out a Syrus, lowering his Life Points to 200.

**Syrus Truesdale**

**200**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2800 **

"Now, Burstinatrix, use Flare Storm!" Burstinatrix formed a fireball that proceeded to hit Syrus head on, lowering his Life Points to 0. "That's game!"

"I know. I failed," Syrus miserably said.

"Hey, don't be too hard on yourself, Syrus. Even though I won in the end, that doesn't negate the fact that you made some good moves. By the way, what was that one card you drew but never played?" Jaden looked at Syrus's hand and saw that he had Power Bond and Limiter Removal. "You had Power Bond and Limiter Removal? Why didn't you play them? You would have had one tough monster and won for sure! Then again, for my sake, I'm glad you didn't use them."

"You don't get it. My brother says I'm not good enough to use Power Bond, and I likely never will!" Syrus yelled out as he ran away from the area.

"Wait, Syrus!" Rainbow Dash ran after Syrus in order to try and calm him down. Meanwhile, Alexis and Fluttershy were staring out at Jaden.

* * *

Alexis and Fluttershy walked down to where Jaden was at. "I guess practice doesn't always make for perfect, at least when it comes to Syrus," Alexis sadly muttered.

"I just wish I knew what happened. He has this primo setup to win the duel and he doesn;'t use it. Why? Because some brother told him not to. I just wish I knew what happened to make Syrus be this way, That the only one holding him back is himself." Jaden said in concern for his friend.

"I know what you mean, Jaden. I have a younger brother that can be great if he actually put in the effort to do something, but he doesn't. I just wish I knew why this is the case. Both for Syrus and for Zephyr," Fluttershy was curious.

Suddenly, Alexis gasped. Much to the confusion of both Fluttershy and Jaden. Eventually, she spoke her piece. "Actually, Syrus's brother goes to this school. In fact, you may have already heard of him."

"Really? I have no idea who you are talking about," Jaden bluntly said.

"Hello? Zane Truesdale? Third year Obelisk Blue? Best duelist at this school?" Alexis revealed who he was. "And yes, he is as good as his reputation says."

"Sounds scary. But, if we are going to help Syrus, we are going to have to confront him," Fluttershy decided.

"Yeah! I say it's about time we give Zane fellow a call," Jaden said. "Not only to help Syrus and find out what happened between them, but to also find out how I stack with the big leagues."  
"But, you two aren't listening! No one messes with Zane!" Alexis warned the duo.

"I'm really sorry, Alexis. But we need to find out what is happening in order to help Syrus. He won't be able to duel better until we deal with Zane first," Fluttershy explained.

"Fine. Looks like I can't convince you two otherwise. Just be careful, okay?" Alexis carefully said.

"Yes! Hear that Zane? We're coming for you!" Jaden called out.


	10. For the Sake of Syrus

Jaden and Fluttershy were walking through the main building to the Card Store in order to sign up for a duel against Zane. They couldn't help but remember what Alexis had told them yesterday.

"_Actually, Syrus's brother goes to this school. In fact, you may have already heard of him."_

"_Really? I have no idea who you are talking about," Jaden bluntly said._

"_Hello? Zane Truesdale? Third year Obelisk Blue? Best duelist at this school?" Alexis revealed who he was. "And yes, he is as good as his reputation says."_

"I can't believe that Syrus's brother said that he wasn't good enough to use Power Bond!" Fluttershy said as she filled out a duel request form.

"I know, right?" Jaden agreed. "If I had an older brother that told me I wasn't good enough to use some card, I'd be insecure and lacking confidence too. Well, that is all about to change," Jaden said as he also filled out a duel request form. "Hey, Fluttershy? Do you spell Zane with one or two "n's"?" At this, Fluttershy fell over onto the ground in shock.

"I think his name has one "n," Jaden." Fluttershy stated as if it was obvious.

Suddenly, before the two of them could continue, Dr. Crowler and his Corgi Clarissa suddenly approached them and grabbed their duel request forms. "Let's see. Who are you two dueling?" As Dr. Crowler looked at the forms, he was flabbergasted to see that they were both requesting to duel Zane. "You two must be joking. I think you'll find that Zane will be too tough to handle against a dropout boy like you Jaden. As for you Fluttershy, might I recommend you find an opponent more your speed?"

"Sorry, Dr. Crowler, but this duel is important. We want to duel Zane in order to find out what is going on with Syrus so we can curb his confidence issues," Fluttershy explained calmly, with no sense of nervousness present where it normally would be.

"Yeah. It'll help Syrus be ready for our upcoming tag match, see?" Jaden continued.

"Oh yes. The tag duel where if you lose you both will be expelled from the academy. And you say dueling Zane will help you prepare for it? Well, sorry, but there will be no duel for the both of you," Crowler rejected their duel, and gave the forms to Clarissa, who proceeded to tear them to shreds with her teeth, much to the horror of Jaden and Fluttershy.

* * *

Syrus was holed up underneath his covers, dejected as he looked at his Power Bond card, with an unbearable weight hanging on his shoulders. "_And I never would have given you that card if I knew you would act the way you did or misplay the card like you were about to." _Syrus suddenly placed his hands over his ears, desperately hoping they would keep these words out of his head even though he knew they were forming in his mind anyhow. "_You were reckless and needlessly mean Syrus. You don't deserve to play that card until you've become a true duelist"_

"Aw, man. I don't know a thing about duel monsters. I'm gonna let Jaden down," Syrus miserably wailed to himself.

Suddenly, Syrus imagined a scenario where he and Jaden were tag dueling against two unknown opponents. They had only 1200 Life Points remaining while their opponents still had all of theirs. After bashing Syrus's move, their imagined opponent played a spell card to take control of his Patroid and attacked Jaden directly, costing them the duel. As Jaden cried out in defeat to Syrus, he wanted to know why his friend cost them the duel. Before he could respond, one of his imagined opponents answered, "_I'll tell you why. It's because he doesn't belong here."_ The opponent who said this was revealed to be Zane, who simply laughed wickedly at his younger brother.

Syrus finally left his fantasy and returned to the real world, not that this boosted his morale in any way at all. "Man, I'm toast."

* * *

In the forest, Rainbow Dash was there talking with Pinkie Pie about what had occurred the previous day with Syrus losing the duel when he could have won easily.

"And he totally is a great duelist too. He just doesn't have the confidence to help him reach his massive potential," Rainbow Dash finished explaining.

"Man, that sounds bad. It sounds like it may take more than a simple party to cheer him up, though if he wants one to help I'm still game to do it," Pinkie Pie offered.

"Thanks Pinkie, but no thanks. I think what he needs is a good talking to by me and the rest of the girls. Maybe with all of us working together we can get to the core of his confidence problems.

"Yes indeedy, I'll go get the rest of the girls. See you in a bit!" Pinkie Pie responded as she jumped up and hopped off to get the others.

Before Rainbow Dash could get accustomed to being alone again, she was interrupted by Jaden and Fluttershy. "I can't believe Dr. Crowler wouldn't let us duel Zane! That was very mean!" Fluttershy grumbled to herself.

"Yeah, and where does it say that the forms need to be filled out in triplicate?" Jaden complained with Fluttershy.

"Wow, you two are angry, which I'm not used to seeing on either one of you. What's the problem?" Rainbow Dash asked the duo.

"Well, we're trying to duel Syrus's brother in order to help boost his confidence for our upcoming tag match," Jaden started.

"But Dr. Crowler rejected letting us duel him," Fluttershy finished.

"Wow, and here I thought I knew how mean Crowler could be," Rainbow Dash was surprised to hear. "Well I guess if Crowler won't let you duel him you can just go to the Obelisk Blue dorm and ask to duel him personally," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea! Thanks Rainbow Dash. We'll go do that now!" Fluttershy and Jaden ecstatically said.

"By the way, who is Syrus's brother anyway?" Rainbow asked out of curiosity.

"He goes by the name Zane Truesdale, and he's the best duelist in the school!" Jaden answered before he and Fluttershy ran to the Obelisk Blue dorm.

* * *

When the duo reached the Obelisk Blue dorm, however, they were not met with positive reception. Jaden was pushed down to the ground and Fluttershy was hit on by some of the boys, much to her discomfort.

"You really wish to challenge Zane? Please. Like he'd waste his time with chumps like you," one of the boys said.

"Yeah. You're probably wet behind the ears from pre-duel school," another boy mocked.

"No we're not!" Jaden countered only to be splashed in the face with a bucket of water by the Obelisk Blue boys before they walked away. "We'll find a way to duel him one way or another," Jaden muttered under his breath.

* * *

After this failure, Jaden and Fluttershy returned to the Slifer Red dorm to check up on Syrus. When they got there, they found that Syrus's bed was empty and that Rainbow Dash was reading a note. Upon asking about it, the duo were read the note by Rainbow Dash, "_Dear Jaden, I'm leaving Duel Academy. Don't try and stop me. I'm only holding you back. It's for the best, Syrus."_

After finishing reading the letter, Jaden grasped it in his left hand. "We need to find and stop Syrus right away!" Jaden realized.

"Right!" Both Rainbow and Fluttershy agreed as the trio left the room to find Syrus. Upon getting outside, they started their search near the rocks by the ocean.

"Syrus? Where are you?" Jaden called out, hoping that his friend could hear.

"Syrus? Come out and tell us more about your brother, please?" Rainbow Dash asked, curious about the best duelist at this school and hoping she could duel him.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy scolded her friend for how she was focusing on the wrong detail.

Meanwhile, Syrus had built a raft and was prepared to use it to get away from the academy. "Goodbye, Duel Academy."

Back with Jaden, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy, the three of them were continuing to look for Syrus only to be met with no luck. Before they could continue, Jaden's deck glowed and Winged Kuriboh's spirit appeared, much to the confusion of the trio.

"Wait, is that Winged Kuriboh?" Rainbow Dash was confused.

"Yes, it is. Hey, do you think you can help us locate Syrus?" Jaden asked the tiny spirit. The spirit complied and the trio followed after the spirit.

* * *

Zane was standing by the lighthouse at sunset, waiting for Alexis to arrive. As expected, she arrived at the lighthouse and took her spot next to Zane. "Any luck yet?" Zane asked Alexis without looking at her.

Alexis sadly shook her head. "I keep looking for some sign or clue but all I've found so far is nothing. It's like my brother doesn't even exist anymore."

"Don't worry. You're sure to find him soon," Zane comforted.

"Also, speaking of brothers, I saw yours the other day. He lost a practice duel with Jaden Yuki. Your name came up and not in a good way," Alexis added on.

"So, the big, bad, brother. So what? Does Jaden want to scold me?" Zane snarked.

"Actually, I think he wants to duel you," Alexis responded.

Before the conversation could continue, they suddenly heard a voice, which belonged to Syrus yell, "Stay back, Jaden!" They noticed that he was going to use a raft to leave Duel Academy.

* * *

Jaden ran towards Syrus's raft jumping on before Syrus could get too far. However, before Jaden could say a word, the shoddily built raft fell apart and the two fell into the water.

"Help me! I can't swim!" Syrus yelled out as he grabbed onto Jaden, who started to sink into the water.

"And you were about to raft out into the middle of the ocean? That makes sense!" Jaden sarcastically yelled.

"Don't worry guys! I'll save you!" Rainbow yelled as she jumped into the water, only to be met with a surprise. "It's-shallow."

Immediately upon hearing this, Jaden and Syrus stood up, the water only meeting up above their knees. "Aw, Jaden, why are you trying to stop me? I stink. Just let me go. They'll assign you a new tag partner and you'll have a much better chance at winning the tag duel," Syrus reasoned.

"Hey, don't say that. That's your brother talking!" Jaden bit back.

"Yeah. He just can't see how great you truly can be," Fluttershy comforted.

"You guys just listen to me! I'm a lost cause!" Syrus wailed.

"He is right, you know," Zane said to the group, him and Alexis having arrived at the spot where they were.

"So, that's Zane," Jaden was in awe upon seeing Zane, the school's best duelist.

"You dropping out?" Zane simply asked his younger brother.

"Yeah, kinda," Syrus sadly answered.

"Well, it's about time," Zane bluntly answered.

Syrus fell into misery upon getting this confirmation from his brother. He wasn't good enough for this school and he never would be. As he walked towards the remains of his raft, he started to sob to himself. Jaden, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash couldn't stand for this any longer.

"You're his big brother! How can you say that to him?!" Fluttershy cried out.

"Yeah! What makes you think you can treat Syrus with such cruelty?!" Rainbow Dash bit back, not being able to stand bullies.

"Because I know him," Zane answered simply.

"Yeah, well you think you know it all, but guess what? You're wrong! In fact, I challenge you to a duel to prove it!" Jaden challenged the older student.

"Yeah, me too! That will show you to be nicer to your brother!" Fluttershy agreed.

"Dueling a Slifer and another opponent all at once? Sure. I can always use the extra experience," Zane agreed to the duel.

"Well, get your game on!" Jaden said.

"Jaden, Fluttershy, don't! He's good!" Syrus tried to warn his friends.

"I'm sure he is, but I'm still going to duel!" Jaden cried out.

"Yeah! Maybe we can find out what happened at the same time!" Fluttershy agreed.

* * *

Later that night, the group of students set up for a duel by the lighthouse.

"Duel!" Jaden, Fluttershy, and Zane yelled as they set up their hands, with Jaden and Fluttershy each having 4000 Life Points while Zane had 8000 Life Points.

"Aw man! My big brother taking on my best friend and another of my friends? There is no way this can turn out good!" Syrus cried out.

"Great! Now we not only get to find out what is going on between Syrus and his brother, but we also find out how we rank with the best! It's go time! First, I summon Elemental Hero Avian in attack mode! (1000/1000). I'll also throw down a facedown while I'm at it."

"I guess it's my turn then." Fluttershy began her turn. "I summon Kuribon onto my field in attack mode!" A cute furball with a mouse-like tail was summoned onto Fluttershy's field (300/200). "I then place three cards facedown (Mirror Force, Dust Tornado, and Bad Reaction to Simochi). That's all for my turn."

"Very well. It's my turn. I play the spell card Pot of Greed, which allows me to draw two cards. Next, I special summon Cyber Dragon to my field in attack mode." A metallic dragon was summoned to Zane's field (2100/1600). Surprisingly, Fluttershy's determination to defeat Zane ruled out her normal fear for dragons.

"Whoa! How can you summon a level five monster on your first turn?!" Jaden was shocked.

"I can summon my Cyber Dragon to my field because it's my first turn, Jaden. With no monsters on my field while you have at least one means I can summon him without a sacrifice. Next, I play Heavy Storm to destroy all of your spell and trap cards," All of Jaden's and Fluttershy's trap cards were destroyed, leaving them wide open to attack.

"Aw man. This isn't good. At this rate, my friends are going to be in huge trouble," Syrus feared for Jaden and Fluttershy.

"Don't worry. Kuribon's special ability will protect Fluttershy from damage. As much as I'd prefer to be dueling myself, it looks like Fluttershy can deal with this guy on his own," Rainbow tried to comfort Syrus.

"Wow, that was fast!" Jaden was amazed.

"Not as fast as your Life Point meter will go down, especially after I play the spell card Strident Blast. I can play this card only while I control a Cyber Dragon or a fusion monster that requires Cyber Dragon. When activated, it allows me to attack twice in a turn and negate the effects of any monster battled. Now, Cyber Dragon, attack Kuribon and Elemental Hero Avian!  
Strident Blast!" Cyber Dragon launched a stream of fire out at Avian and Kuribon, destroying them and inflicting damage to both Fluttershy and Jaden.

**Zane Truesdale**

**8000**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2900**

**Fluttershy**

**2200**

"_Aw man. I tried to warn them that Zane was good," _Syrus worried.

"Next, I activate the spell card Different Dimension Capsule," Zane started to explain as he played the spell card. "With it, I get to place one card from my deck into the capsule and in two turns I get to add it to my hand." A strange green capsule appeared and a card was placed into it before it sunk back into the ground.

"Aw, sweet. That card has gotta be the best card in his entire deck! I can't wait to see what it is," Jaden was excited.

"_I'm not. I already have an idea and it's not a very good one,"_ Syrus was worrying to himself.

"That will end my turn. It's your move, Jaden," Zane said.

"_I'm gonna have to be careful if I'm gonna win this. Not only is this guy as good as people say he is, he might even be better. Still, that doesn't mean he's as good as me!" _Jaden thought to himself. "My draw! And I'm gonna rock Polymerization! With it, I'll fuse Elemental Heroes Sparkman and Clayman together to form Elemental Hero Thunder Giant (2400/1500)! And I'll use his special ability to destroy your Cyber Dragon since his original attack points are weaker than Thunder Giant!" Thunder Giant launched out a powerful volt of electricity, destroying Cyber Dragon. "The best part is since that move was Thunder Giant's ability I still get to use his attack on your Life Points!" Thunder Giant zapped Zane, only for him to not react to the attack at all. "Um, you know you can kinda flinch. Whatever. Maybe this facedown card will make you later."

**Zane Truesdale**

**5600**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2900**

**Fluttershy**

**2200**

"_That is, if he lasts long enough to use it,"_ Syrus thought to himself.

"Now, it's my turn! And, I'll play the spell card Double Summon! With it, I can summon two monsters this turn instead of one. And with it, I'll summon Sunlight Unicorn (1800/1000) and Regulus (1700/1000) both in attack mode." Zane was still undeterred, even at the sight of two monsters. "I'll have both of my monsters attack you directly!" Both monsters rushed at Zane, inflicting damage to Zane's Life Points.

**Zane Truesdale**

**2100**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2900**

**Fluttershy**

**2200**

"Not bad, you two. You managed to do quite a bit of damage to me. You should both be proud," Zane congratulated the duo.

"Thanks, I'm having a blast," Jaden accepted the praise.

"You're welcome. Not many duelists know this, but the secret of being a true duelist is to be able to respect your opponent," Zane said with a smile.

"Hold on! I want to know something and I think Jaden wants to know too. Why are you so hard on your brother? After all, you seem perfectly capable of giving respect to us, so why not to him?" Fluttershy asked, wanting to know the reason why.

Zane was silent for a few moments before he gave out his answer. "It was a few years ago. My brother was battling a bully in a duel and when he drew Power Bond he got too overconfident and talked negatively to his opponent. I couldn't stand for it and ended the duel before he could unknowingly lose. I don't hate my brother at all. If he is going to be a duelist he needs to learn proper respect and how to play his cards. Without this knowledge, he can never become a good enough duelist to use Power Bond." At this, Syrus moaned in sadness.

Fluttershy was quiet for a moment before she finally responded, "Do you really think that your reasoning is good enough to scar Syrus as much as you have? You've broken his confidence big time. We are here to duel to fix his confidence, and while you don't seem all bad, you still need to understand where you messed up!"

"You tell him, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash cheered her on.

"Right, now I'll end my turn!" Fluttershy announced, only for Rainbow and Syrus to fall forward in response.

"Well, I don't need to listen to your opinion. My draw! Since I now have no monsters again I can summon another Cyber Dragon. Next, I'll play Monster Reborn to revive my Cyber Dragon in the graveyard. But they won't be here for long in present form. I'll play the spell card Polymerization to fuse both my dragons together in order to fusion summon Cyber Twin Dragon

(2800/2100)!" Zane announced.

"A double dragon?! Wasn't one of these guys enough for Jaden to deal with?!" Rainbow Dash yelled in annoyance.

"You see, I can attack twice in a round with Cyber Twin Dragon. This duel is getting close to being over," Zane said. "Cyber Twin Dragon, attack Thunder Giant!"

"Not so fast! I play the trap card A Hero Emerges! With it, you would normally have to select a card and I'd get to summon it if it was a monster. However, since I only have one card in my hand, let's cut right to the case! Wroughtweiler in defense mode!" Jaden yelled out.

"You're still in trouble, Jaden. Now, Cyber Twin Dragon, attack both of Jaden's monsters!" Zane yelled out as both of Jaden's monsters were destroyed.

**Zane Truesdale**

**2100**

**Jaden Yuki**

**2500**

**Fluttershy**

**2200**

"Thanks for that, Zane. Thanks to you destroying Wroughtweiler, I now get to add a Polymerization and an Elemental Hero from my graveyard back to my hand from the graveyard. Just when you thought you could stop worrying about them!" Jaden called out as he showed that he brought back Clayman.

"I don't worry," Zane bluntly stated.

"Wow! Not worrying or flinching?! You really are good!" Jaden complimented Zane.

"Thanks. You both are pretty good yourselves," Zane complimented back.

"_Wow. Since when does Zane give props?"_ Syrus was confused.

"It's now my move! I summon the Elemental Hero Bubbleman in attack mode! And since he is the only card on my field I'm allowed to drw two cards," Jaden drew two cards, only for Winged Kuriboh's spirit to point out to Jaden what he just drew. "_Transcendant Wings and Winged Kuriboh?! These are the same cards I used to trash Chazz's Dragon Catapult Cannon! With Winged Kuriboh Level 10, I could destroy Zane's Cyber Twin Dragon and deal it's attack points to Zane as damage, winning the duel for us in one shot. However, I can't normal summon again this round, so I'll just have to summon another monster." _"I play the spell card Polymerization to fuse Clayman and Bubbleman together to create Elemental Hero Mudballman (1900/3000) in defense mode! That'll do for me. What about you, Fluttershy?"

"As for me, I'll summon Dark Reasonator in attack mode. Then, I'll tune my Dark Reasonator with my Sunlight Unicorn in order to synchro summon Ancient Fairy Dragon (2100/3000) in Defense mode! While I'm at it, I'll also switch Regulus to defense mode. That's it for my turn. Give it your best shot, Zane!" Fluttershy encouraged her stoic opponent.

"Wow, you guys both got out very defensive monsters out in a turn each?! Great job! Now, show him who's the best!" Rainbow Dash encouraged her friends.

"You want my best? Well, you'll get it! It's been two turns since I played Different Dimension Capsule. Now I can take the card I placed in it earlier and add it to my hand! You both played well, but not well enough," Zane gave his opinion to the two duelists.

"Give us your best shot!" Jaden challenged.

"Yeah! Let's get this over with!" Fluttershy agreed with Jaden.

"You both are true duelists, all right. You now not only know how to use all their cards but how to play them as well," Zane explained with a smile on his face.

"_Knowing how to play your cards?" _Syrus wondered.

"_That's a very good compliment, and even better advice. I hope Syrus is listening," _Jaden thought.

"_Of course! Knowing how to use your cards and how to play them are two totally different things! That is what Zane was trying to tell me all those years ago!" _Syrus thought.

Zane began his move. "First, I'll activate my spell card De-Fusion in order to split my Cyber Twin Dragon back into two Cyber Dragons. Next, I'll play the fusion spell card Power Bond, allowing me to fuse the Cyber Dragons on my field with the one in my hand in order to fusion summon Cyber End Dragon (4000/2800)!"

"Eep! That doesn't look good!" Fluttershy nervously said.

"Also, keep in mind that my monster's attack points have doubled due to Power Bond. In addition, Cyber End Dragon can inflict piercing damage when attacking a defense position monster," Zane explained, much to Fluttershy's growing dread as Jaden was left undeterred.

"Well, no matter what Cyber End Dragon can only attack once meaning that at least one of them will win thanks to Power Bond's negative effect," Rainbow Dash tried to comfort her worried friend.

"That's right. Power Bond will inflict damage at the end of Zane's turn and his Life Points will go to zero," Alexis said in realization.

"_Yeah, but that won't matter if you play it right, and I'd say he has. Especially because of…"_

"I play the effect of Strident Blast from my graveyard! Now, by banishing it from my graveyard, I can have my Cyber End Dragon attack twice this turn. Now Cyber End Dragon, attack Mudballman and Ancient Fairy Dragon with Super Strident Blaze!" Zane yelled as Cyber End Dragon attacked and destroyed both monsters, lowering the Life Points of both Jaden and Fluttershy to zero.

"He...lost," Alexis was in shock at Jaden losing the duel.

"Jaden! Fluttershy! I'm sorry!" Syrus called out to the two.

"That was a great duel, Zane," Jaden thanked the Obelisk Blue.

"Even though I lost, I think I've still learned quite a bit. I'm not entirely sure about how you treat Syrus, but I can still admit you are a great duelist," Fluttershy also thanked.

Alexis moved to follow Zane. As they were leaving, she asked him, "So, what do you think?"

"I think that Syrus chose some good friends," Zane answered with a smile.

"I'm sorry we couldn't win Syrus," Fluttershy immediately apologized to Syrus.

"You know what, it's fine. Thanks to this duel, I learned to play Power Bond, not just use it," Syrus was left feeling better than he had for some time.

"So, what do you say that we edit your deck in order to play that Power Bond of yours?" Jaden offered.

"Yeah, now that you know how to play it. Who knows? Maybe someday you can beat Zane." Rainbow Dash added on.

Before they group could continue giving their encouragement, Twilight and the others suddenly arrived. "Hey guys! We've been looking all over for you for hours. Where have you been?" Twilight wanted to know.

The group was silent for a moment before Fluttershy suddenly answered, "We were just getting Syrus some confidence, which I think that we did."

The group wanted to say more, but couldn't think of how to respond right away.

Suddenly, everyone's stomachs were growling. The group decided to return to their dorms in order to eat before editing Syrus's deck. While Fluttershy and Jaden were not able to accomplish what they initially set out to do, they were able to restore Syrus's lost confidence, which was a prize much better than a simple win.


	11. The Takeout Duel

For the next couple of days, Twilight and her friends trained with Rainbow Dash in order to help her be ready for her duel against Crowler's opponent. They had many test duels for her, and she was able to win most of them. The night before she was to face her opponent, Twilight and Spike looked over Rainbow's deck one final time.

"Well, Twilight, Rainbow's deck seems to have a great balance of monsters, spells, and traps. I don't think we need to worry about her deck anymore. Her deck is great, especially compared to how it used to be," Spike reassured Twilight.

"I know Spike, but for all we know Crowler could end up having her face off against a powerful opponent that can stop her from staying at this school. She loves being here and will be sad to leave so soon. Besides, you've spent most of your time either back at home or in my dorm room. You haven't seen many duels or how Rainbow Dash slacks off in class," Twilight was wary.

"You're right. I haven't seen many duels, but I know that Rainbow is very talented at this game. Even you have trouble beating her. Just trust that she will do well, Twilight. Things will turn out fine, you'll see," Spike said.

Twilight was quick to smile. "You're right Spike. I'll try to have faith in her abilities. She's one of the best duelists at this school, and she can totally win tomorrow."

* * *

The next day, Rainbow Dash headed towards the school's duel arena for her duel. She waited a good few minutes for her opponent to arrive. At first, she thought that she was going to win by default since no opponent had arrived. Eventually, however, her opponent had arrived.

"Excuse me! Coming through! I have a Slifer Slacker to take down," A familiar voice said. When said voice got out of the crowd, she saw that it belonged to Chazz Princeton. "Professor Crowler wanted me to redeem myself from my loss against Jaden by dueling you. This is great! I'll get to prove that I'm the best and get rid of a Slifer Slacker at the same time!"

"Well, don't think that it'll be easy, Chazz. Remember that I did defeat Crowler in one turn. I can defeat you in only a few turns without having to even get serious," Rainbow Dash boasted.

"Well then, how about we stop talking and get to dueling, you Slifer Slime!" Chazz mocked.

The two duelists drew until they each had five cards. "Duel!" Both Duelists yelled.

"The first move is mine. I draw. I summon Chthonian Soldier in attack mode (1200 Attack)! I end my turn," Chazz played.

"Hmm, you think that you can have me attack your soldier in order to have me take damage, huh? Well, it won't work. I activate the spell card Double Summon. With it, I can normal summon twice this turn. I summon Twin-Sword Marauder in attack mode (1600 Attack) and Magic Hole Golem in defense mode (2000 Defense)! Then, I activate my Golem's ability. With it, I can halve the attack of Twin-Sword Marauder this turn and make it the only monster that can attack this turn. In exchange, I can attack you directly (800 Attack)! Twin-Sword Marauder, attack!"

**Rainbow Dash**

**4000**

**Chazz Princeton**

**3200**

"Looks like Rainbow Dash is doing pretty good so far, huh Syrus?" Jaden asked his friend.

"Uh, right! Let's just hope it can stay that way. After all, didn't you almost lose to Chazz, Jaden?" Syrus hoped his friend would do well.

Jaden fell to the floor for a second before he picked himself up. Before he could say anything, Alexis sat down next to them and interrupted. "Well, it looks like your friend is doing well so far. She found a way to deal damage while avoiding losing life points," Alexis said.

"Well, what can I say? For Slifers, we are very great duelists, Alexis," Jaden commented. At this, Alexis smiled, hoping that the duel would continue going Rainbow's way.

"I end my turn there," Rainbow said.

"That all? I thought you were here to win!" Chazz said as he drew. "I summon Dark Blade to the field in attack mode (1800 Attack)! Then, I activate the spell card Fissure, which destroys your weakest monster, meaning that your Magic Hole Golem goes bye bye! But why stop there? Dark Blade, take out his Twin-Sword Marauder!" The swordsman was destroyed by the knight, lowering Rainbow's life points by 200. "Now, Chthonian Soldier, attack her directly! I end my turn with a facedown."

**Rainbow Dash**

**2600**

**Chazz Princeton**

**3200**

"Oh no! Rainbow Dash isn't doing so hot right now," Rarity started to get worried.

"Yeah! In one turn she went from having the lead to losing it," Applejack commented.

"If this keeps up, we will have one less friend staying here at Duel Academy," Twilight nervously said.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash is a great duelist. We can't give up on her yet," Fluttershy said, not losing hope.

"Fluttershy is right. Let's see if our darling Rainbow Dash can turn this around," Rarity said.

"Yeah! And when she wins we can celebrate with a 'Rainbow is staying at Duel Academy party!'" Pinkie Pie yelled out in excitement.

"My turn. I summon Luster Dragon from my hand in attack mode (1900 Attack)! Now, I'll have my monster attack and destroy Chthonian Soldier!" Rainbow cried out.

"Ha! You just activated my monster's special ability, meaning you take the same damage that I have!" Chazz mocked.

**Rainbow Dash**

**1900**

**Chazz Princeton**

**2500**

"I end my turn," Rainbow said.

"Perfect, now it's my move again. I equip my Dark Blade with Axe of Despair to increase his attack points by 1000 (2800 Attack)! I now sacrifice my entire hand and my Dark Blade in order to tribute summon Infernal Incinerator in attack mode (2800 Attack)! Thanks to my monster's ability, my monster gains 200 attack points for every monster you have out (3000 Attack)! Now, Infernal Incinerator, attack her Luster Dragon!"

**Rainbow Dash**

**800**

**Chazz Princeton**

**2500**

"This is just perfect! Next round, you will be finished by my Infernal Incinerator! I end my turn! Hope you haven't gotten used to that roach infested dorm yet, because you are about to be sent home!" Chazz laughed to himself.

"This is bad! If Rainbow doesn't think of a way to counter this, then she'll end up losing next turn!" Syrus said.

"Don't worry! I'd say judging by our friend's face that she has a plan," Jaden reassured.

"I hope you're right, Jaden," Alexis said.

"My turn. Since you are the only one with monsters, I can special summon Vice Dragon from my hand in exchange for halving it's points (1000 Attack)! Next, I summon the Tuner Monster Clock Resonator! Now I tune my Clock Resonator with my Vice Dragon in order to Synchro Summon Red Dragon Archfiend (3000 Attack)! And now, I plan on having my dragon attack your Infernal Incinerator!"

"What?" Everyone was shocked.

"But if she does that, then she'll be left wide open to attack!" Twilight yelled, her worry at its peak.

"There has to be a reason for the attack. Maybe her trap card will help," Rarity suggested.

"Go ahead and do your suicide attack!" Chazz yelled as the two monsters destroyed each other. "_What she doesn't know is that I have Monster Reborn facedown. On my next turn, I'll use it to revive one of my monsters and attack her directly! This duel is mine!"_

"I activate my trap card, Call of the Haunted! With it, I can revive one of my monsters in attack mode! Return, Red Dragon Archfiend (3000 Attack)! Now, attack Chazz directly!" Chazz was burned by the attack, reducing his life points to zero.

Chazz fell down on all fours. "I-I lost. I can't have lost this duel! I can't have lost to another Slifer Slacker!" He screamed before leaving the arena in a huff.

Suddenly, Rainbow's friends from both friend groups surrounded her and gave her a hug.

"Great job, Dashie!" Pinkie congratulated.

"Yeah! You now get to stay with us!" Jaden said.

"Good luck for later on this year," Alexis wished her luck.

"Ha! I don't need luck! I can get through the year based on my impressive duel skills!" Rainbow cockilly yelled out.

"Wow, Rainbow Dash! You did very well! You get to stay at Duel Academy," Chancellor Sheppard said as Rainbow looked confident. "Now for homework, you need to write a five page report on what you learned from all this." Rainbow Dash's smug grin changed to a look of terror.

"Um, Twilight? Can you help me…?" Rainbow began to ask.

"I can, but I'm not doing it for you," Twilight responded.

* * *

**Well, sorry it took so long, but I've finally finished the next chapter. If anyone knows where I can find the Japanese dub of GX please let me know. Also, sorry I forgot about Spike. I'll try to do more with him in the future.**


	12. Tag Team Trial Part 1

"_Just look at them. Pathetic Slifers littering the campus like vermin. The halls of Duel Academy are for the elite, not the lame. And definitely not that dropout boy Jaden Yuki. _That dropout boy has made a mockery of me for long enough!" Crowler cried out, scaring the Slifer Reds that were nearby. "But soon he will pay most dearly for it. Soon with what I have planned."

"Dr. Crowler," Chazz interrupted Crowler.

"Yes, Chazz. How may I be of service?" Crowler asked the Obelisk Blue.

"You can put me in that tag team duel against Jaden and Syrus. That's how. After my last two losses, it would give me great pleasure to crush them like insects," Chazza answered.

"You?" Crowler was confused.

"That's right. This time I know I can beat them and send them packing."

"Sorry, but you'll be sitting this duel out, Chazz. Don't get me wrong, your skills are admirable, but I'm afraid I'm not taking any chances on this one. If Jaden loses here, he will be expelled from Duel Academy once and for all. Which is why he will be facing the greatest tag duelists in the world."

* * *

"Wow. You guys seem pretty calm about this tag duel, giving the risk of being expelled. That said, I know you'll do great," Rainbow said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Anyway, why shouldn't we be calm? It's just another duel, another day. No problem. Right Sy?" Jaden asked his friend, only to see that his friend looked uncertain.

Syrus was looking at his Power Bond card, thinking to himself, "_I can't just relax, you guys. After all, the last time I dueled I was awful. Just like my brother said I was. If I'm going to win this duel for us, I need to do better for the both of us. I can't let anyone get in my head, especially Zane. After all, the last time I let him get in my head, Jaden really let me have it."_

"_Sy, that's your brother talking. You just need to believe in yourself," _Syrus remembered Jaden talking to him a few days ago.

"_Jaden is right. I need to believe in myself. Believe in myself. Believe in myself," _Syrus thought. "I believe in myself, Jaden!" Syrus said aloud.

"Hey, that's pretty great," Jaden responded as he pocketed his deck.

"With confidence like that, it'll be hard to lose," Rainbow said. "Good luck you two. You're going to win for sure."

"Thanks, Rainbow," Jaden accepted the vote of confidence.

"We'll be sure to do good," Syrus agreed as the duo left for their duel.

* * *

"Attention students! The tag duel will begin in just a few moments. And remember, these are test conditions. This is a sudden expulsion match," The announcer said to the students.

"A tad harsh I'd say," Bastion muttered to himself.

"No joke," Bastion turned to see that Alexis was sitting down next to him. "You're Bastion Misawa, a friend of Jaden's, right?"

"I supposed you can say that. And you're Alexis Rhodes?" Bastion asked Alexis.

"Yeah, and I'm also the reason that they're in this mess. They were helping me at that abandoned dorm."

"I see."

"But if anyone is in need of help, it's them. Word is that Crowler has hired professionals to duel them. Tag Dueling legends. Duelists that worked with the creator of Duel Monsters himself," Alexis was wary.

"In that case, they may be in huge trouble," Twilight Sparkle said as she and her friends sat down next to the duo, with Spike on Twilight's lap.

"Hey, it's you guys again," Alexis acknowledged.

"Yeah. We came here to give the two of them some moral support. They might be in need of it, given the circumstances," Fluttershy said.

"We're hoping that the two of them will do fine," Applejack added on.

"Yeah. If they lose I'm pretty sure that even the funnest party won't be able to make it up to them," Pinkie Pie said sadly.

"Hey! That's talking like they're going to lose, which they won't," Rainbow Dash said.

"I understand your fervor Rainbow Dash, but if they really are facing legends they could be in trouble," Rarity reminded her friend.

"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, what is with the dog Twilight?" Alexis asked Twilight upon noticing Spike.

"Oh. I keep him in my Dorm room and he is feeling left out, so I asked the Chancellor and as long as he doesn't make a fuss, he can see Duels along with me," Twilight explained.

"Yeah. If only I could actually Duel," Spike muttered under his breath.

"Time to send in the accused," The announcer said. "Syrus Truesdale and Jaden Yuki." Meanwhile, Chazz slammed his foot against the seat in front of him, much to his friend's shock.

"Check out the acoustics in here! They're great!" Jaden said.

"You think they can have your echo as your tag partner?" Syrus asked.

"For the hundredth time, you're my tag partner," Jaden said as he messed up Syrus's hair.

"Doesn't hurt to ask, though," Syrus responded.

"Slifer Slackers! It should be me taking you out! But I guess as long as someone does it!" Chazz seethed to himself.

As the duo of Syrus and Jaden got up onto the stage, they stopped and saw the Mane 6 in the crowd. "Hey look, Sy! The girls made it to see our Duel!" Jaden said.

As Jaden walked away, Syrus saw his older brother watching the Duel. "_Well, little brother. Let's see if you belong here or on the next plane out of here,"_ Zane thought.

"_Zane's here?! Gotta believe in myself. Gotta believe in myself. Gotta believe in myself. Gotta believe in myself!" _Syrus thought, trying to regain his confidence.

"Now without further ado, allow me to introduce our guest tag team duelists!" Crowler announced as two bald guys dressed in orange and green robes backflipped on the stage.

"Wow. Who is that?" The pair asked.

"The Paradox Brothers!" Crowler answered.

"Salutations! You fools!" Para said.

"Hope you're ready to lose," Dox finished in rhyme.

"I've never heard of these guys," Jaden said.

"Yeah. Maybe this tag duel won't be so bad," Syrus was feeling more comfortable.

"Yes, maybe so. After all, it's been ages since they've dueled, and the last opponent they had was a child. I believe he went by the name of Yugi?" Crowler gave false comfort.

"The King of Games?" Syrus asked.

"I've studied these guys. They're some kind of dueling mercenaries, not to mention the best tag duelists in the world. This is hardly fair," Alexis said.

"Yeah. Having these two as opponents almost guarantees a tough duel," Twilight said.

"I think that's Crowler's point. Statistically, I'd put Jaden's chances of winning at 1 in 50," Bastion shook his head.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash! You may have won against me, but soon you'll be all alone in your dorm as Jaden and Syrus are about to be given a ticket out of here!" Chazz mocked.

Rainbow Dash growled at this, but Applejack held her friend back so that she wouldn't do anything rash.

"Enough with the pleasantries," Para said.

"And now on with the duel," Dox continued.

"We didn't come here to talk," Para added on.

"We came…" Dox said.

"To destroy you!" Both said simultaneously as Crowler snickered.

"Crowler, don't you think this is a bit much?" Chancellor Shephard asked uncertainly.

"No, it isn't. Jaden and Syrus broke a big time rule so they deserve big time opponents. Besides, we can't send the brothers back now. They've come so far," Crowler defended.

"Jaden, I'll leave the decision up to you, my boy," Shephard gave Jaden the choice.

"Aw, these guys couldn't even beat male pattern baldness, so there's no way they can beat us!" Jaden agreed to the duel, much to Crowler's offense.

"Very well. Students, prepare to battle!" Crowler called out.

"Breathe Sy," Jaden said as he noticed Syrus looking nervous. "We can do this."

"The rules for this tag team duel are really quite simple. There is no sharing of advice, strategy, or any card that isn't already in play. However, you can use what is on your partner's field. Is that understood?" Crowler asked the two pairs.

"Yes," all four duelists said.

"Then, duel!"

"I'll go first. I summon Gyroid in attack mode (1000 Attack)!" Syrus summoned.

"You must be joking! I'm surprised that thing even has an attack mode! This, on the other hand, Jirai Gumo (2200 Attack)!" Para played.

"What? An overgrown bug? Well, it's nothing that my deck can't squash," Jaden said. "Elemental Hero Burstinatrix. Defense mode (800 Defense)!"

"The best defense is a good offense, you fool! Kaiser Sea Horse! Attack mode (1700 Attack)!" Dox summoned.

"_Okay. If I know dueling the way I think I know dueling, these two are likely to attack next," _Syrus thought.

"I choose to play a spell card from my hand, Tribute Doll! To activate it, I must sacrifice one monster from our side of the field. Good thing that my brother is so generous with his. I sacrifice Jirai Gumo. Now I can summon a level 7 monster this turn! And I choose to summon Kazejin (2400 Attack)!" Dox played.

"He sacrificed his brother's monster in order to summon a stronger monster for the team. Now that's tag dueling," Bastion muttered in awe.

"Can you please try to not sound so impressed with them?" Alexis asked.

"Yeah. I'd rather not be reminded how Jaden and Syrus can easily lose," Fluttershy said.

"Come on, you guys! You can beat that wind golem with ease!" Rainbow cried out to her roomates.

"Um, technically I think Kazejin is a spirit," both Bastion and Twilight muttered.

"Do you actually believe you know anything of this game?" Para asked his opponents.

"You're amateurs, you're losers! In other words, you're lame," Dox continued.

"And if you think that what you are going through is grueling," Para said.

"Then I'll play this card and give you a true schooling," Dox finished. "I play Dark Designator! This spell card allows for me to call out any monster name that I can think of. And if it is anywhere in my brother's deck then I can add it directly to his hand! Now, let me see here. Sanga of the Thunder!"

"What do you know? It's right here ready to tear them asunder," Para grabbed Sanga from his deck.

"You gotta be kidding me! Another level 7 monster?" Jaden was shocked.

"The duel just started," Para said.

"And yet it is almost done!" Dox continued.

"For your demise has already begun!" Both brothers said simultaneously.

"Don't worry, Sy! They're only saying that because it makes for an easy rhyme," Jaden tried to comfort his friend. "_Now I hope that we don't make for an easy match. Okay, monster roll call. I got my Burstinatrix chillin' in defense mode. And Sy has got his Gyroid. Not bad, but not enough, especially since we're staring down some serious competition. Especially some level 7 green thing I've never seen before! Kazejin, was it?"_

"What do you think, Jaden? If we give up now we'll have some extra time to pack up all our stuff. What do you think, Jaden?" Syrus offered.

"The only thing we're packing is some serious dueling punch. I'm telling ya, we'll beat these guys, Sy!" Jaden said.

"Jaden, you're right," Syrus said. "_We are packing some serious dueling punch! Not only am I gonna show the Paradox brothers, but I'm gonna show my brother as well. And I'm gonna do it right here, right now on this turn!" _Syrus thought. "All aboard! I summon Steamroid in attack mode (1800 Attack)! And now I play Polymerization. Check it out! I'm fusing my Gyroid and Steamroid together in order to form the ultimate engine that could Steam Gyroid (2200 Attack)! Now that's locomotion! You may have been able to pull off some amazing teamwork, but by sacrificing your brother's Jirai Gumo, you've left him completely defenseless to a direct attack!"

"Um, Sy?" Jaden tried to warn Syrus.  
"And now, I'm closing in! Steam Gyroid, attack Para!"

"A direct attack?" Para asked, looking scared.

"You got that right!" Syrus countered.

Everyone in the arena looked shocked, except for the laughing Chazz and Crowler, as well as Rainbow Dash and Syrus who thought the attack would work.

"That was a bad move," Twilight commented.

"But why? Syrus is about to deal major damage to Para!" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Simple. Kazejin has an ability that can negate the damage dealt from one of their battles, meaning the attack was for nothing," Spike whispered, much to Rainbow's shock.

All of a sudden, Para's false fear disappeared. "If you please, brother," Para motioned towards his brother.

"It would be my pleasure. I activate Kazejin's special ability! It's my monster's special ability, do you like?" Dox asked.

"It reduces the damage to zero without even a fight!" Para continued.

"So I goofed?" Syrus sadly asked as Crowler laughed.

"Do these two think they have a chance against Para and Dox? They shrink worse than dirty socks! Oh, now they even have me doing it!" Crowler rhymed.

"Don't worry about it, Sy. No biggie," Jaden tried to comfort his friend.

"Yeah. Right," Syrus sadly muttered.

"Hey, I'm serious, pal. Just keep going," Jaden said.

"You're right, Jaden. I play one card facedown and end my turn," Syrus set a card.

"At last a smart move! My draw!" Para said. "I play Monster Reborn and bring back the frightful Jirai Gumo (2200 Attack)! And now I also play another spell card, Tribute Doll!"

"Not again!" Syrus was worried.

"Yes, and yet again I sacrifice Jirai Gumo in order to play another level 7 monster, Suijin (2500 Attack)! And I am not done yet! May I borrow another monster, brother?" Para asked.

"Please, brother. That's why he's there!" Dox answered.

"I sacrifice Kaiser Sea Horse!"

"In case you didn't know, When you are summoning a Light attribute monster, Kaiser Sea Horse's sacrifice counts as two instead of one. Which means I am now able to summon Sanga of the Thunder (2600 Attack)!"

"Now I place those odds at 500 to 1," Bastion grimly said.

"What are the odds of you being quiet?" Alexis asked, which Bastion got the hint and quieted down.

"Three monsters on our side. What could be better?" Para asked his brother.

"I know brother. When they come together," Dox continued.

"Prepare yourselves! I sacrifice Suijin, Kazejin, and Sanga of the Thunder! So that I can summon the ultimate monster! Rise, Gate Guardian (3750 Attack)!"

"Gate Guardian?!" Syrus was shocked.

"He's ginormous!" Jaden was also shocked.

"Just wait until you see his attack! Go! Destroy Steam Gyroid! Tidal Surge Attack!" Para cried out.

**Jaden and Syrus**

**6450  
Para and Dox**

**8000**

"This isn't a duel. It's target practice for the Paradox Brothers," Bastion commented. "And Sy's the bullseye."

"He's just made a few bad moves that's all. I'm sure he'll turn things around. At least I hope so. Jaden's good, but he's not good enough to win this thing by himself," Alexis cautiously commented.

"I know, it hurts!" Para started.

"The bad news is it only gets worse," Dox continued.

"If it gets as bad is this rhyming then we'll be in serious trouble," Syrus commented.

"_These two are doing better than I expected! They know just what to do and when to do it! After all, in a tag duel once one attacks the weakest link, the whole chain comes crumbling apart. And that chain is Syrus. Poor little Syrus. He'd be the weakest link on a plate of sausages," _Crowler thought in glee, while Chazz was laughing to himself.

"_Aw man. I hope Jaden has something in that deck of his or else it'll be the end of our lives at the academy," _Syrus nervously thought.

"Well, the bigger they are the harder they fall. Let's take this thing down!" Jaden cried out as Syrus looked nervous.

"I'd like to see you try. But for now I'll play this facedown card and end my turn," Para said.

"Then it's time to throw down! Here goes! Sweet! First, I'm gonna summon the Elemental Hero Clayman (800 Attack)! And next I play Polymerization! I'll fuse the Burstinatrix and Clayman on my field in order to create the Elemental Hero Rampart Blaster (2000/2500)!" Jaden played.

"Well, Blaster's bad, but not as bad as that Gate Guardian. His defense points are only 2500 while Gate Guardian's attack is 3750! Blaster is going to be blasted for sure!" Syrus was worried.

"Aw, don't sweat is, Sy. You see, Rampart Blaster's effect allows for him to attack an opponent's life points directly!" Jaden explained.

"Our life points!" The Paradox brothers both yelled.

"Now attack with Blaster Barrage! Sure you only lose half the life points you'd normally lose, but it's a special ability. What are you gonna do?

**Jaden and Syrus**

**6450**

**Para and Dox**

**7000**

"A lucky move," Dox grumbled.

"Finally! The Paradox Brothers lost some life points! Jaden and Syrus can still win!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"All right! We're back in this thing!" Syrus cheered.

"Aw, Sy. We were never out of it," Jaden reminded his friend.

"_Jaden's right. We can still win this thing," _Syrus thought.

"It's my draw now! And I activate the equip spell card Fairy Meteor Crush and equip it onto Gate Guardian!" Dox played. "Now, when Gate Guardian attacks a monster in defense mode the difference between his attack points and your monster's defense points are dealt to your life points!"

"Not so fast! Don't forget that I have a facedown! Go Mystical Space Typhoon! Now I can destroy a spell or trap card on the field, and I think I'll destroy the spell card you just played," Syrus cried out.

"Perfect! Now they won't take any piercing battle damage this turn,," Rarity sighed in relief.

"I play my trap card Judgement of Anubis! Now I can negate your spell card by discarding one card from my hand. Your Space Typhoon has just been downgraded into a pleasant summer breeze," Para explained. "Observe. But that's not all it does. Now it destroys one of your creatures and inflicts damage to your life points equal to that creature's attack points!"

"Pretty cool special feature!" Dox said as Rampart Blaster was destroyed.

**Jaden and Syrus**

**4450**

**Para and Dox**

**7000**

"I play Defense Wall and end my turn. As long as he is on my field, you cannot attack any monster other than him!" Dox explained.

"The Gate Guardian in attack position with Defense Wall on defense. It's almost flawless," Bastion muttered in awe.

"I get it! Now, can you be quiet or should I move?" Alexis asked in annoyance.

"It's not fair! Para and Dox are too powerful for Jaden and Syrus to defeat! They're given a guaranteed expulsion and we can't do anything to stop them," Fluttershy grumbled.

"Yeah, it does seem fishy, girls. Is Crowler trying to get them expelled or something?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, but someone is trying to get them out of here, and I'd say Crowler is at the top of the list of suspects," Twilight suspiciously noted.

"What are you waiting for? It's your turn," Dox informed Syrus.  
"To be honest, a miracle," Syrus answered as he drew his card. "I summon Cycroid in defense mode (1000 Defense)!" Jaden looked over at Syrus. "_Aw man. Jaden's looking at me. I know it was a weak monster, but it was the best I could do." _

"You play a bike? Well, it's about to get a major flat! Gate Guardian, attack Cycroid! And don't forget that the difference between your monster's defense points and my monster's attack is dealt to you as damage!" Para said.

**Jaden and Syrus**

**1700**

**Para and Dox**

**7000**

"Your life points are falling!" Para said.

"Your game play is appalling!" Dox continued.

"There is nothing to do except to give up and start bawling!" both brothers said at once.

"Attention, Jaden Yuki. It is your turn! If you don't make a move, you will be disqualified!" The announcer said.


	13. Tag Team Trial Part 2

"Well, it's two monsters to one. That's a simple calculation to figure. They'll be knackered," Bastion said.

"Thanks, Bastion. Now you're dogging them with words I can't even understand," Alexis countered. "Now, we have to believe that Jaden has a strategy."

"I'm pretty sure that he does. It's Syrus that I'm worried about. He's walked into every spell, trap, and monster attack that the Paradox brothers have played. To be blunt, he's been horrible," Bastion shook his head.

"On second thought, I liked it better when I couldn't tell what you were saying," Alexis countered.

"Oh, sorry," Bastion apologized.

"Please, turn things around," Rainbow Dash was pleading at this point.

"How likely do you think they can win at this point?" Applejack asked Twilight.

"Well, unless Jaden and Syrus can destroy Gate Guardian, they have very little chance of winning," Twilight gave the bad news.

"_Finally, those Slifer Slackers are getting the beatdown they deserve! I can't wait until they lose and get kicked out of Duel Academy, especially Jaden!" _Chazz thought as he clenched his hands together.

"Uh, Chazz. Are you alright?" His blue haired friend asked.

"_That slime. Thinking he was going to be the next King of Games? Please! That's my destiny!" _

"I'm a genius! Pure genius! First, I lure them into the abandoned dorm. Then, I arrange a tag duel as punishment! After that, I hire the best tag duelists in the world to ensure that they lose and get expelled!" Crowler said in glee as he laughed loudly to himself.

"So, Crowler. Enjoying the boy's punishment a little too much, are we?" Chancellor Shephard asked Crowler.

"Oh, you misinterpret me. I'm merely glad that the duel's nearly through. After all, our students are looking oh so weary. It is good that their suffering is nearly through," Crowler lied through his teeth.

"Well, it doesn;t look like they're suffering to me. In fact, it looks like Jaden is just getting his second wind."

"Well, well. The Slifer Red forges ahead when a smart duelist…" Para said.

"Would have fled," Dox finished.

"Man, I'm starting to wish that they made us Slifers orange. Then we wouldn't have to listen to these awful rhymes," Jaden said as Winged Kuriboh appeared next to him. "You're right. I don't think they got it either."

"Forget about our rhyming," Para said.

"Just worry about our card play," Dox continued.

"With the partner you have, to win will go a long way," both brothers criticized Syrus.

"Don't listen to them, Sy," Jaden comforted his friend.

"But they're right," Syrus moped.

"No, they're not right. And I know because you are going to be the one to take that Gate Guardian down! My turn!" Jaden cried out. "I summon Elemental Hero Sparkman (1600 Attack)! Next, I activate an equip spell card called Spark Blaster. With it, I can change the battle mode of a monster. Take a knee, Gate Guardian (3400 Defense)!"

"Well that was an odd choice. Unless Jaden has something planned, I'd say Jaden wasted his move," Bastion noted.

"Dashie? Do either of them have a card that can help them?" Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash.

"Syrus has a few cards that can be of help," Rainbow commented. "All he needs to do is draw them."

"You have our Gate Guardian in defense mode on retire. But your situation is just as dire!" Para said.

"Though I hate to feed the fire. With Defense Wall in play, you have yet to retire," Dox added on.

"Alright, I'll play a card facedown and end my turn," Jaden played.

"My turn. I will set this card. No more, no less. Now onto you brother. You do the rest," Dox played.

"Nice move to play brother. I think it's for the best. On my next turn, I'll win us this contest," Para said confidently.

"Aw. Jaden, you heard them. On their next turn they're going to take us out," Syrus moped. "Maybe I should just give up. At least then they might let you have a rematch then."

"Listen to me, Sy. One draw. It's all it takes to turn the tide of an entire duel. Remember the last time you had only one draw? You may have surrendered, but if you took another turn you would have taken control of the duel. See what I'm saying? There's no such thing as a last draw because with the right card, you can always get another draw! It's your turn, friend. I believe in you!" Jaden comforted his friend.

"_I know, Jaden. That's what I'm afraid of," _Syrus thought. "_Jaden said that my next draw could turn this duel around, but the only way that can happen is if I defeat that Gate Guardian. Wait, of course! I just need to draw that one card. If I don't draw it, all our hopes and dreams of being the best will all be over." _Okay, it's my turn! I draw! Jaden, I got it!"

"You did? Great! Just show them the drill!" Jaden said.

Syrus nodded, "I summon Drillroid in attack mode (1600 Attack)! And guess what? When Drillroid battles a monster in defense mode, it's automatically destroyed!"

Drillroid tried to drill through Gate Guardian only for Defense Wall to block the attack. "Go, Defense Wall!" Dox cried out.

"Hehe. Those two must have forgotten that Defense Wall automatically intercepts any attack," Chazz snickered to himself.

"A very nice try, but it's just not enough," Para said.

"Gate Guardian still stands despite your best stuff," Dox added on.

"But that wasn't your best stuff, right Syrus?" Jaden revealed.

"No it wasn't! And with Defense Wall out of the picture, it's about time you get it. Go, Shield Crush! And it can destroy one monster that is trying to hide in defense mode, like your Gate Guardian!" Syrus played, finally destroying Gate Guardian.

"Our Gate Guardian is kaput," Para said.

"I can hardly look!" Dox was shocked.

"Great job, Sy!" Jaden congratulated his friend.

"Alright! With their boss monster gone, they now have a chance!" Rainbow Dash was excited and so was most of the students.

"No! This is supposed to be punishment! Yet the crowd is treating them like heroes!" Crowler was shocked. "You're seeing this, right Chancellor?"

"Yes I am. This duel is helping to promote teamwork and dueling fortitude. Nice work!" Shepherd said.

"Did you just see that?" Bastion asked.

"I'm watching my friends be in the duel of their lives. What do you think I'm looking at?" Alexis asked Bastion. "But you wanna know what amazes me even more than them destroying that Gate Guardian? The teamwork they used to do it."

"Good point. They'll need to keep that teamwork up in order to win," Bastion said.

"Yeah! With Gate Guardian gone, the chances of winning just went way up!" Fluttershy cheered.

"This is no time to relax, guys," Twilight warned, much to the group's confusion.

"Yeah, I've been around Twilight studying long enough to know that there is a possible monster in their decks that is just as strong as the Gate Guardian. In fact, it may even be stronger," Spike warned, much to the group's shock.

"Did that dog just talk?" Alexis asked, having heard Spike.

"Um, no! You're just hearing things! Spikey here didn't talk! I'm just doing ventriloquism!" Pinkie Pie tried to cover for Spike.

"Now I'll play one card facedown and end my turn. Thanks for the pep talk," Syrus thanked Jaden.

"Thank you for that sweet move," Jaden thanked Syrus back.

"Mind if we join in on all the praise, you two?" Para butted in.

"For destroying that monster we should really thank you!" Dox said, much to their opponent's shock.

"They say what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. After all, we have the cards ready in order to defeat you! I play the spell card Dark Element. This card can be activated when Gate Guardian is in the graveyard. Now by paying half of our life points, we can summon a monster that can't be destroyed in battle! Go, Dark Guardian (3800 Attack)!"

**Jaden and Syrus  
1700**

**Para and Dox**

**3500**

"Invincible in battle and has those attack point's?!" Bastion was shocked.

"This looks bad!" Syrus was wary.

"Now, Dark Guardian, attack Drillroid with Axe Slash Bash!" Para called out.

"That's it. If this attack connects, then they lose," Bastion said.

"Not so fast! I play the trap card Hero Barrier! This lets me stop one of your attacks so long as there is an Elemental Hero out! And as you can see, my Sparkman is standing tall!" Jaden countered.

The Paradox brothers were not too surprised seeing the attack negated, but they knew that they would win on their next turn and confidently ended their turn.

"_Aw man. Just when I step up my game they step up theirs too," _Syrus thought.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for! Now the two of them are about to be expelled!" Crowler's excitement returned.

"Chin up, Sy. Stand up," Jaden said. "_Because you'll want a good look for what I'm about to pull." _

Syrus was ultimately able to pull himself up. "Looks like the boy still wishes to proceed," Para said.

"Thought mercy for sure that he would plea," Dox said.

"No, he would need smarts to know to concede."

"Can it, you two. It's my turn. And I draw the spell card Pot of Greed! This lets me draw two cards. Next, I'll play Fusion Gate. With this card, I don't need Polymerization in order to fusion summon a monster. So, I'll fuse Avian, Bubbleman, and Sparkman together. All to create Elemental Hero Tempest (2800 Attack)!" Jaden played.

"Impressive, but not good enough to defeat their Dark Guardian," Bastion commented.

"Bastion, just whose side are you on?" Alexis asked. "_I hope you know what you're doing, Jaden." _

"An impressive move, but it is useless, boy," Para said.

"Have you forgot about Dark Guardian? He is still deployed. In battle our monster cannot be destroyed," Dox continued.

"Making your monster null and void," Para finished.

"Void this! I play the spell card Skyscraper! With this card, my Elemental Hero Tempest gains 1000 attack points when he battles a monster stronger than him. Like Dark Guardian. Now Hero Tempest! Attack!" Jaden cried out.

"Didn't I warn you? In battle he can't be beat. Your Hero Tempest has been bested so…," Para reminded.

"He will meet defeat!" Dox finished.

"Syrus, can you spare a card?" Jaden asked Syrus, who nodded. "I play Tempest's ability! With it, by removing one card on our side of the field, Tempest isn't destroyed."

"I don't get it? Was Jaden hoping for a tie?" Alexis was confused.

"Very good move. So far as Syrus realizes what to do next," Zane noted.

"Jaden…" Syrus uncertainty said.

"Hey, it's okay Syrus. Just remember to play the right card come your turn," Jaden comforted his friend.

"If he has another turn. I play the trap card One on One fight! It forces both our strongest monsters to battle! So, hope your Hero Tempest is up for a rematch!" Dox yelled.

"But what is the point? It'll just result in a tie again?" Syrus didn't get the attack.

"I have my reasons," Dox responded.

"They're pretty sneaky. In order for Tempest to survive the attacks, Jaden will need to keep sacrificing cards," Alexis said.

"And whatever advantages they give him," Bastion added on.

"Unless… That's Jaden's overall point to Syrus!" Fluttershy realized.

"I really hate to do this, but I guess I have no choice. I'll get rid of Skyscraper," Jaden decided.

"You may have saved your monster, but your life points will be decreased! That's all for me," Dox said.

"And next turn I give you my guarantee," Para said.

"The duel will be ours. You will see," Dox finished.

**Jaden and Syrus**

**700**

**Para and Dox**

**3500**

"Alright, Syrus, just remember what I said," Jaden reminded his friend.

"_In order to win, I need to play the right card, not just know how to use it," _Syrus remembered. He then got why Jaden attacked Dark Guardian. It was to show that even if a monster isn't destroyed, damage would still be done. "_No more thinking. Time for action! I draw!" _Syrus then saw that he drew Power Bond. "First off, I'll sacrifice Drillroid in order to summon UFO-roid (1200 Attack)! Then I play the spell card Power Bond! And I know just the two monsters to fuse. Jaden, do you mind?"

"Hey, what's mine is yours and yours is mine," Jaden agreed.

"I fuse Tempest with UFO-roid in order to summon UFO-roid Fighter! And it gets better! His attack points are the sum total of both monster's individual attack points (4000 Attack)!"

"It matters not, so stop your ceaseless prattle," Para said.

"You know Dark Guardian can't be destroyed in battle!" Dox reminded.

"I know that. See, Roid Fighter's attack points are doubled by Power Bond (8000 Attack)! So, even though your monster will survive your attack, it'll be a different story for your life points.  
Now Roid Fighter attack!" The attack went right past Dark Guardian and dealt 4200 life points in damage to the Paradox Brothers, winning Jaden and Syrus the duel.

"They won! I knew they'd win from the get go! That means they'll stay at Duel Academy!" Rainbow Dash cried in glee.

"And here I thought you were worried," Applejack snarked.

"Well, maybe a little," Rainbow begrudgingly conceded.

"Wow, they won. They're impressing more and more everyday," Bastion said in awe.

"I'm just glad that Jaden and Syrus both get to stay here," Alexis was relieved that the two didn't get expelled thanks to her.

"Grr. I'm outta here," Chazz left the arena in a huff.

"Wait! Don't forget about us!" The blue haired friend said.

"But how?! How could they have won?!" Crowler was in shock.

"Simple. They have a very good teacher. Wait, they're in my dorm," Professor Banner said as Pharaoh licked Dr. Crowler. Crowler proceeded to freak out over being licked.

"Well, go ahead Syrus. I know that you cry when you win," Jaden said.

"No. Not the new and improved Syrus," the young boy said as he tried to ignore his tears, only to break down in joy.

"Looks like some things never change," Jaden commented.

"Well, I know one thing that isn't going to change; your enrollment at the academy. You're here to stay!" Chancellor Shephard informed the pair, much to their shared joy.

"Wait a second," Jaden said as he turned to the two brothers. "If you ever want a rematch, just let me know."

"And I think that this lesson will be better written, say about a five page report written? After all, you did break campus rules and I would like to see what you learned from all this" Jaden and Syrus's joy was put to a halt at this.

"What?! A five page report?! I don't think I've even read that much before!"

"Well, then in that case how about ten pages single spaced?" The Chancellor suggested.

"I'll make sure that they do it, Chancellor," Banner said.

As the adults left the arena, Jaden was left floored that they had to write a ten page report on what they learned. He didn't even know how to spell Paradox brothers. Fortunately, the Mane 6 arrived to give a group hug to the duo as Twilight offered her help in writing the report.


	14. Update

I have decided to restart the GX Fanfic on Fimfiction as Duel Monsters Are Magic GX. If you want to read this up to date version, you can go to Fimfiction to read it. Hope that you enjoy the story should you decide to read it. Thanks for reading.


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